To the Point

Can the Volunteer Army Finish the Job in Iraq?

Monthly reports on military recruiting are usually out on the first of each month, but the Pentagon's waiting until Friday to release the numbers for May. The Marines have failed to meet their quota for the last four months, and in April, despite sleazy tactics to increase enlistment and problem soldiers being retained, the Army was down by 42%. The Pentagon claims it's not just delaying more bad news, but that it has to examine recruiting statistics so it can better explain them to the public. Meantime, despite mounting casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, Congress has voted overwhelmingly not to renew the draft. Will enough volunteers be willing to go into combat? We take another look at the draft with recruiters, military correspondents, education advocates and a New York Congressman who's called for a renewed draft. Making News: Supreme Court Says No More Medical Marijuana The US Supreme Court says federal authorities may prosecute sick people whose doctors proscribe marijuana, even if state laws say medical use is okay. David Savage, who reports on the court for the Los Angeles Times, says the case is truly a test of federal versus state power. Reporters Notebook: 9-11 Commission Presses White House for Terror-Risk Info It's been almost a year since the 9-11 Commission made its recommendations for preventing another attack on US soil, but former Commission Chair Thomas Kean, once the Republican Governor of New Jersey, says many of those submissions have not been implemented. Today, what's now called the Public Discourse Project held the first of eight public hearings to find out what's happening, as Philip Shenon reports in the New York Times.