Today CNN’s Crossfire and FOX News’ Hannity & Colmes both featured segments about the draft. When I first heard what they would be talking about on Crossfire this afternoon I was relieved to find that the media was finally paying attention to the possibility of a military draft. But I soon discovered that this was by no means an informative debate about reinstating the draft. This was the start of an effort to make the American people comfortable with the idea of a return to the draft. The media war has begun.

Crossfire’s debate was between Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, who supports the draft, and Republican Congressman Peter King, who supports the draft but less than Rangel. On Hannity & Colmes Rangel made a solo appearance talking to the show’s two hosts. In both cases the focus of the debate was not on whether there should be a draft but rather on who should serve in the draft. That a draft would be good is simply taken as a given, reinforcing the idea of reinstating the draft in the shows’ viewers.

As was pointed out on Crossfire, the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to a draft. Having a bill to reinstate the draft pass through Congress might be difficult with 80-90 percent of their constituency against them. This means that if they want to have the draft ready to go in time for spring 2005, they would start trying to sell the public on it now. Today we could be seeing the beginning of a new propaganda effort leading up to the reinstatement of the draft.

Americans are still very much opposed to the draft, though. So there is still a very good chance this effort to bring it back can be defeated. This makes it all the more important to keep Americans informed about such efforts to reinstate the draft and to fight this bill wherever we can now, before American civilians are sent to die a world away from home.