The U.S. Selective Service, the agency responsible for registering Americans to be potentially drafted into the military, said its website suffered from an onslaught of internet traffic caused by “misinformation” spreading online Friday amid concerns about the country possibly entering a full-fledged war.
“Due to the spread of misinformation, our website is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time. If you are attempting to register or verify registration, please check back later today as we are working to resolve this issue. We appreciate your patience,” Selective Service said through its Twitter account.
Selective Service reported experiencing the surge on the heels of a U.S. airstrike killing Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in Baghdad, Iraq, which was followed by topics related to “World War 3” trending throughout the day on social media platforms like Twitter.
President Trump said later Friday that Soleimani had been planning a major attack on Americans and that the airstrike was launched to prevent a war.
Majid Takht Ravanchi, Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations, described the strike to CNN as “tantamount to opening a war,” meanwhile.
American men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to provide their personal information to the Selective Service, though the military has not conducted a draft since 1973.
“The Selective Service System is conducting business as usual,” the agency said in separate tweet Friday. “In the event that a national emergency necessitates a draft, Congress and the President would need to pass official legislation to authorize a draft.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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