"An Internet-driven rumor mill" about DRAFT forces BUSH denial [View All]

[Dems Will Win]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36265-2004Apr23.html

White House Pressed on Military Draft

And here's what McClellan says: "That is just not something that's under consideration at this time." But that doesn't really answer the question that is being asked: Is Bush thinking about reinstating the draft in the future?

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The issue of the military draft emerged in the major media this week after an independent-minded Republican senator raised it at a committee hearing on Tuesday. As Helen Dewar reported in The Washington Post: "Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a Vietnam War veteran and an influential member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wants the United States to consider reviving the draft as part of a broader effort to ensure that all Americans 'bear some responsibility' and 'pay some price' in defending the nation's interests."

Long before that, the question had become a hot one on the Internet, particularly on blogs and Web sites that routinely express great skepticism about the Bush administration. (See, for instance, BuzzFlash.com.)

Here's how Dana Hull of the San Jose Mercury News puts it: "An Internet-driven rumor mill about the possible return of a military draft is forcing Pentagon officials to step up denials that such plans are in the works."

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