No poll about sending ground troops to fight ISIS—or anywhere else—is complete without asking questions about the military draft.
A recent NBC News poll taken after the events in Paris asked:
Would you support or oppose the United States sending additional ground troops to fight ISIS (Islamic militants) in Iraq and Syria?
Strongly support: 33%
Somewhat support: 32%
Somewhat oppose: 18%
Strongly oppose: 13%
DK/NA: 3%
The following questions should be added:
Do you have any family members in the eligible age range for Selective Service registration, between ages 18 and 25?
If a military draft was put in place by Congress, would you support or oppose the United States sending additional ground troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria?
If your representative in Congress voted in favor of a military draft, would you be more likely or less likely to vote for them in the next election?
(That age range is based on the current requirement for men between 18 and 25 to register with Selective Service. At various times, the draft has covered a much wider range, all the way up to age 45.)
If a military draft was in place, the support for ground troops would likely plummet, if respondents were honest (which they sometimes aren’t). If the mandatory service included women—as it does in Israel, the darling of conservatives—the support number might approach zero. Especially if respondents/voters weren’t sure they could pull strings to get their loved ones out of serving.
Any member of Congress who voted in favor of a military draft, men only or men and women, is almost assured of losing the next election.
This is no way diminishes regard and thanks for the extraordinary valor and service of those who voluntary choose to serve in any military action. This is simply to suggest that those who righteously support such actions in the abstract might have a very different opinion when they, to put it bluntly, crudely and literally, have precious skin in the game.
Bob Schwartz 