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National service is a great idea that doesn't work on a large scale. The Israelis can make it work given that they have a homogenous population that is much smaller than the US. The closest analogy to the US would most likely be Russia, and by all accounts their national service was a disaster under the Soviets and continues now. New recruits are habitually tortured, raped, assalted and robbed by "career" servicemen, with several dozen being outright murdered by their squadmates every year. There is a huge resentment between career and non-career personnel, and I don't see any reason for that kind of friction to be lacking here, given the current all-volunteer force. There's a big grassroots movement in Eastern Russia now to do away with madatory service.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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