Ragni 1
Amy Ragni
November 21, 2005
Mrs. Yonkoski
Research Argument Outline
I.
Introduction:

The issue I chose for the research argument essay is the military
draft. More specifically, I want to address the facts and ideas not to reinstate
the draft.
II.
Claim:

Reinstating a military draft for the war in Iraq would cause more
problems for our country than there already are.
A.) The war in Iraq serves no purpose to begin with. This war isn’t about
“defending vital American interests” (Greely) nor does it have “anything to do
with the war on terrorism” (Greely).
1. “There were no weapons of mass destruction there and no connection
with al-Qaida or the Sept. 11 attack” (Greely).
2. “The only issue seems to be whether we can impose democracy on
Iraqis who don’t seem seriously to want it” (Greely).
B.) “An October 2004 Gallup survey showed only minimal support for reinstituting the military draft” (Jones). “Despite the recruiting problems, seven in
10 Americans say they oppose reinstatement of the draft” (Jones).
Ragni 2
1. In October 2004, a Gallup survey showed “14% of Americans said the
United States should ‘return to the military draft, while 85% said it should
not’” (Jones).
2. “Americans overwhelmingly oppose reinstatement of the military draft”
(Lester).
3. “The draft has never been popular and there’s little reason to believe it
would be popular now,” public opinion analyst Karlyn Bowman said”
(Lester).
C.) Opposing point of view: Reinstating the military draft is a positive alternative
our country should turn to during this time of war in Iraq.
1. “All four branches of military service are having trouble attracting
recruits to their reserve forces” (Lester). “About a quarter of the people in
the United States favor reinstating the draft” (Lester). “Young people owe
their country a part of their lives, even their lives itself” (Greely). Our
country needs more troops, not fewer.
a.) “So a draft would satisfy manpower needs that an allvolunteer force might not. It would also almost certainly be cheaper”
(Traub).
b.) In “The Case for the Draft,” in The Washington
Monthly (March 2005), editor in chief Paul Glastris and Philip Carter, an
attorney and former army captain, propose a plan under which young
people would be denied admission to four-year colleges unless they had
served for one to two years in a program such as Americorps, in homeland
Ragni 3
security assignments, or in the armed services, where they could fill
support roles” (“A Return to the Draft”).
D.) Rebuttal:
1. “Military commanders don’t want a draft; they’re happy to have, in the
All-Volunteer Army, the best-educated, best-tempered, most easily trained
soldiers in American history. Politicians don’t want a draft, because they
know it’s the surest route to losing the next election; millions of
supportive voters will turn into raging protesters if their little Johnny- or,
worse yet, Janie- gets forced into battle” (“A Return to the Draft”).
2. “There isn’t a chance in the world that the draft will be brought back,”
Rumsfeld told a House hearing” (Lester).
E.) Conclusion:
Overall, according to statistics from 2004 Gallup Poll and a 2005 APIpsos Poll, Americans strongly oppose the reinstatement of the military draft. “Building
up the army with a draft will serve only the needs of the Bush administration to ‘win’ a
war” (Greely). Yet, “no sane politician is eager to return to the discriminatory, mandatory
system abolished by President Nixon 20 years ago and loathed by a generation of young
men who didn’t want to go to war, including the current President and Vice President”
(Means).
Ragni 4
Works Cited
Greely, Andrew. “Is Military Draft in the Works?” Chicago Sun Times. 23 Apr. 2004.
Common Dreams News Center. 18 Nov. 2005. http://www.commondreams.org
Jones, Jeffrey M. “Many Americans Reluctant to Support Their Child Joining Military.”
Religion and Social Trends. 22 June 2005. Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. D.
Leonard Corgan Library, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. 18 Nov. 2005.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
Lester, Will. “Poll Finds Most Americans Oppose Return to Military Draft.” International
News. 24 June 2005. Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. D. Leonard Corgan
Library, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. 18 Nov. 2005.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
Means, Marianne. “Reinstated Military Draft Would Equalize Sharing the Load in Iraq.”
National Hip-Hop Political Convention. 2004. Hearst Newspapers. 18 Nov. 2005.
http://www.hiphopconvention.org
“A Return to the Draft.” Wilson Quarterly. Autumn 2005. Vol. 29 Issue 4, p83-84.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. D. Leonard Corgan Library, King’s
College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. 16 Nov. 2005. http://www.epnet.com/ehost/login.html
Traub, James. “All Go Down Together.” To The Point: Reading and Writing Short
Arguments. Gilbert H. Muller and Harvey S. Wiener. New York, Pearson
Longman. 2005.