Hightower Lowdown

There's a huge, hulking, hairy beast lurking in the corner that the Powers That Be don't want you to notice: The draft.

Oh, no, insists George W, "We're not going to have a draft, period."

But the situation in Iraq is getting worse by the day— and our so-called "leaders" don't have a clue what to do except send more troops. Indeed, top military analysts concede that our troops will have to occupy that country for another 10-20 years.

Meanwhile, Bush is already pushing for his next war—against Iran. There's also that boiling pot in North Korea, a nation that really does have weapons of mass destruction; we're still in Afghanistan; there's the genocide in Darfur; we're sinking more troops into the jungle of Colombia, and we're constantly told to expect yet another major hit on America by al Qaeda.

Where will the Bushites get the troops for all of this? Not by continuing to force troops to extend their stay in Iraq—there's already rebellion within the ranks against this illegal conscription. The volunteer army? Guess what —recruitment is way off now that potential volunteers see the Bushites' inept handling of their wars.

Just as George dodged the draft in his day, he's now dodging the question whether he'll impose the draft on this generation.