British Zennials Panic Over Talk Of Potential Military Conscription For War With Russia
Just as American Zennials took to social media a few months ago to express their outrage after rumors swirled about a possible military draft, younger Brits are also not happy after multiple government officials hinted that national conscription might be necessary in the near future to combat Russia.
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has suggested that British men and women could face a call-up to the army in the event of a war. The head of the British Army said UK citizens should be "trained and equipped" to fight in a potential conflict between NATO and Vladimir Putin's forces. The problem that is apparently stumping British military brass and political leaders is their ever dwindling recruitment numbers. They just can't seem to fathom why no one wants to fight for them.
In an interview with Sky News, Britain's former top NATO commander General Sir Richard Sherriff echoed Sanders' position, suggested that involuntary conscription might be required to fill British military ranks.
"I think we need to get over many of the cultural hang-ups and assumptions, and frankly think the unthinkable...I think we need to go further and look carefully at conscription..."
The notion has been repeated by officials within the British government as well as former political leaders like Boris Johnson, who posted a rambling article to the Daily Mail promoting conscription as an opportunity for the young people of Britain. Johnson salutes the idea of a “citizens army,” making it sound similar to an American-style militia where young people can learn weapons and tactics and defend the homeland.
The reality, according to Sanders, is that this is not the case. Rather, the likelihood of the drafted being shipped off to fight in countries like Ukraine would be high. Younger Brits are not having it.
Some take a sarcastic approach to the issue (as in America, Gen Z in Britain often reverts to the claim that they are “too gay to fight”), but many present some serous insights into the zennial perception of government driven wars. The most common refrain is “Why should we go and die in a trench in a foreign country for a bunch of rich elites?” This is a valid argument.
Public outcry prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman, Max Blain, to make a statement denying that there are any plans for forced military service at this time. But the fact that so many officials are willing to broach the issue so publicly suggests there may be a plan in motion.
All the talk of conscription comes at the same time that the US will be stationing nuclear weapons within the UK after removing them 15 years ago. It is also probably no coincidence that saber rattling in Europe is rising as American support for Ukraine is waning. Hundreds of billions of dollars in arms and aid has been sent overseas to no avail, with Ukraine's war prospects turning more bleak by the month and their long hyped “counter-offensive” resulting in abject failure.
The propaganda machine is exploiting the old Vietnam-era narrative of the “domino effect,” asserting that Putin intends to advance his forces on Europe after taking Ukraine. There is absolutely no concrete evidence to support this prediction, but war hawks in both the US and the EU repeat it often.
Dropping hints of a military draft may also be a way for officials to frighten the public into supporting even more funding and weapons for the Ukrainian government in the assumption that if the Ukrainians lose, westerners will be forced to fight in their place.
The big question? Is the establishment really willing to escalate the proxy war in Ukraine into World War III by openly putting troops on the ground? It sounds like they want to press the issue but don't have a way to effectively expand the battlefield. Conscription might solve their conundrum. Ample public resistance could be the only thing standing between the planet and devastating global conflict. As the old saying goes, "What if they gave a war and no one showed up?”
