Could a Cosmo girl be drafted? Due to the war in Iraq, there's buzz that a draft might be reinstated. Is it true? And will women be called up-too?(What You're Dying To Know About)

* No doubt you've heard minors that the draft might be making a comeback. But there's no reason to panic yet. President Bush said in October that "we're not going to have a drain--period." And the same month, the House voted down a bill that would have forced all citizens and residents ages 18 to 26, including women, to perform two years of military or nation service. Suspicions about a draft persist, though, because we do, in fact, need more troops than we have.

A Military Spread Thin

Just consider the facts. Tours of duty in Iraq (there are presently 130,000 troops there) are being extended by two to three months in some cases, More than one-third of former soldiers mobilized tamer a special war-time program have resisted their call-ups. And the occupation in Iraq is looking more long-term by the day.

"If we require a strong and continued presence in Iraq or get entangled in another conflict--say in Iran or Korea--we're going to need to find more troops," says Army Maj. Donald Vandergriff, author of The Path to Victory. The draft, he says, "is one option." Several key legislators, including Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Congressional Charles Rangel of New York, say the draft could be a solution. However, while conceding that we need more troops for Iraq, the president and the military claim we have other options. Bush has said shifting troops from Europe and Asia is sufficient to fulfill U.S. military obligation. Of course, Lyndon Johnson downplayed fears of an escalation in Vietnam when he ran for president in ...