Recruiting the Best

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28sun1.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

To the Editor:
 The assertion that the army "must remain an all-volunteer force"

should be challenged on two counts. First, the creation of a career
military creates a warrior caste whose interests will often differ
from those of the nation. Second, it permits the establishment of a
governing caste who can take us to war secure in the knowledge that
their sons and daughters won't bleed in it. Universal conscription
into national service--it must include more than just military
service--is a much better path to a just and cohesive nation.