A draft is inevitable if the United States maintains its military presence in Iraq, according to Bobby Muller, who spoke at Zellerbach Theatre Tuesday night. He urged all present to become informed about the current state of foreign policy.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for his work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Muller spoke about the current political climate, referencing his experience in the Vietnam War.
"My business has been war," Muller said. "It's been war for 30 years."
Muller's hourlong talk centered mostly on the war in Iraq.
"You don't want to hear this," Muller said, "but the fact is, we've lost the war in Iraq. We've passed the tipping point."
Muller continually cited the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, stating, "We paid in blood and lives to learn a lesson." Referring to the current situation in Iraq, he added, "We haven't learned anything."
Muller recommended the award-winning documentary Fog of War, which features a discussion with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara about his influential role in Vietnam. Muller noted McNamara's statement in the film, "We did not understand the other side," and applied this to U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
"If you take that lesson and fast-forward, what do you think the rest of the country knows about Islam?" Muller said. After a pause, he continued, "We don't know anything as a nation, and that same tragic flaw is playing itself out again."
According to Muller, the government has already formulated plans for draft registration, which would include women.
"How would you feel if five of you here get sucked in, and the rest of you were asked nothing?" he asked the approximately 40-person audience. "How do we distribute the burden of sacrifice?"
Despite his strong opinions, Muller repeatedly acknowledged his overriding purpose -- to inspire people to form their own knowledgeable opinions about current events.
"At the end of the day," he concluded, "it was the people, years too late, but it was the people that stopped the war in Vietnam."
College freshman Nitzan Sternberg described Muller's talk as "electrifying," but somewhat unsettling.
"I don't really know what I'm supposed to do at this point," she said, regarding her role as a concerned citizen. "But, I'm definitely going to think about it."
Muller served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War, and in April 1969 was paralyzed from the chest down while leading an assault. Since his recovery, he has founded and led prominent organizations that deal with war and its repercussions, including the Vietnam Veterans of America, the ICBL and, most recently, the Alliance for Security.
The event, entitled "Tour of Duty," was sponsored by the International Relations Program, the Social Planning and Events Committee's Connaissance wing, the Browne Center for International Politics and the Alliance for Security.
