Selective Service testing machine, but draft not imminent

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The Selective Service System is planning a comprehensive test of the military draft machinery, which hasn't been run since 1998. The agency is not gearing up for a draft, said an official. This test is simply a routine check that everything was in order..the test itself isn't expected to take place until 2009. What's got everyone excited, however, is the statements from VA Secretary Jim Nicholson's statement that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft and that it shouldn't have any loopholes for anyone who is called to serve. He later recanted, but the idea of the draft coming back has lingered in the public mind. "We're kind of like a fire extinguisher. We sit on a shelf" until needed, Campbell said. "Everyone fears our machine for some reason. Our machine, unless the president and Congress get together and say, 'Turn the machine on' ... we're still on the shelf." A day earlier, President Bush said he is considering sending more troops to Iraq and has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to look into adding more troops to the nearly 1.4 million uniformed personnel on active duty. But the administration is steadfast in it's position: it will not bring back the draft.