海角大神

We appear to be moving ever closer toward a world war against the Islamic State.听

No sane person welcomes war. Yet if we do go to war against ISIS we must keep a watchful eye on 5 things:

1.听The burden of fighting the war must be widely shared among Americans.听

America鈥檚 current 鈥渁ll-volunteer鈥� army is comprised largely of lower-income men and women for whom army pay is the best option.听

鈥淲e鈥檙e staring at the painful story of young people with fewer options bearing the greatest burden,鈥� Greg Speeter, executive director of the National Priorities Project, told the Washington Post. NPP鈥檚听听found low- and middle-income families supply far more Army recruits than families with incomes greater than $60,000 a year.
That鈥檚 not fair. Moreover, when the vast majority of Americans depend on a small number of people to fight wars for us, the public stops feeling the toll such wars take.

From World War II until the final days of the Vietnam War, in January 1973, nearly every young man in America faced the prospect of being drafted into the Army.听

Sure, many children of the rich found means to stay out of harm鈥檚 way. But the draft at least spread responsibility and heightened the public鈥檚 sensitivity to the human costs of war.听

If we go into a ground war against ISIS, we should seriously consider reinstating the draft.听

2.听We must not sacrifice our civil liberties.听听

U.S. spy agencies no longer have authority they had in the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act to collect Americans鈥� phone and other records. The NSA must now gain court approval for such access.听

But in light of the Paris attacks, the FBI director and other leading U.S. law enforcement officials now听听they need access to encrypted information on smartphones, personal and business records of suspected terrorists, and 鈥渞oving wiretaps鈥� of suspects using multiple disposable cell phones.听

War can also lead to internment of suspects and suspensions of constitutional rights, as we鈥檝e painfully witnessed.听

Donald Trump听听he鈥檇 require American Muslims to register in a federal data base, and he refuses to rule out requiring all Muslims to carry special religious identification.

"We鈥檙e going to have to do things that we never did before鈥�.we鈥檙e going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago,鈥� he听.

We must be vigilant that we maintain the freedoms we are fighting for.

3.听We must minimize the deaths of innocent civilians abroad.听

The bombing raids have already claimed a terrible civilian toll, contributing to a mass exodus of refugees.听

Last month the independent monitoring group Airwars said at least听听have died from coalition airstrikes in Syria over the past year. Other monitoring groups, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also claim significant civilian deaths.

Some civilian casualties are unavoidable. But we must ensure they are minimized 鈥� and not just out of humanitarian concern. Every civilian death creates more enemies.听

And we must do our part to take in a fair portion of Syrian refugees.听

4.听We must not tolerate anti-Muslim bigotry in the United States.听

Already, leading Republican candidates are fanning the flames.听

Ben Carson听听no Muslim should be president.听

Trump听听鈥渢housands鈥� of Arab-Americans cheered when the Twin Towers went down on 9/11 鈥� a boldface听.听

Ted Cruz听听to accept 海角大神s refugees from Syrian but not Muslims.

Jeb Bush听听American assistance for refugees should focus on 海角大神s.

Marco Rubio听听to close down 鈥渁ny place where radicals are being inspired,鈥� including American mosques.

It鈥檚 outrageous that leading Republican candidates for president of the United States are fueling such hate.听

Such bigotry is not only morally odious. It also plays into the hands of ISIS.

5.听The war must be paid for with higher taxes on the rich.听

A week before the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Senate passed a听defense spending bill, with 91 senators in favor and 3 opposed (including Bernie Sanders). The House has already passed it, 370 to 58. Obama has said he鈥檒l sign it.听

That defense appropriation is larded with pork for military contractors 鈥� including Lockheed Martin鈥檚 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive weapons system in history.

Now Republicans are pushing for even more military spending.听

We cannot let them use the war as a pretext to cut Social Security and Medicare, or programs for the poor.听

The war should be paid for the way we used to pay for wars 鈥� with higher taxes, especially on the wealthy.听

As we move toward war against ISIS, we must be vigilant 鈥� to fairly allocate the burdens of who鈥檚 called on to fight the war, to protect civil liberties, to protect innocent civilians abroad, to avoid hate and bigotry, and to fairly distribute the cost of paying for war.听

These aren鈥檛 just worthy aims. They are also the foundations of our nation鈥檚 strength.听