[StBernard] EDITORIAL: Leave Guard in state hands

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: Leave Guard in state hands 


Periodically, the press office will share editorials about Governor Blanco's work in various areas.

Published by: The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
Date: Friday, August 11, 2006 

Our Views: Leave Guard in state hands
Opinion page staff
Published: Aug 11, 2006 

Governors in both parties rightly oppose letting the president take over National Guard troops in emergencies without governors' consent. 

A provision to give the president that power is in the House-passed version of the defense authorization bill. The Senate has not agreed to it.

The proposed change has drawn opposition among members of the National Governors Association. NGA leaders sent a formal letter of opposition to House leaders.

The NGA said the measure would let the president take control in "a serious natural or manmade disaster, accident or catastrophe."

Governors in both parties hope the White House-supported power grab can be blocked in a House-Senate conference. So do we.

For evidence that governors need the National Guard at their disposal, we need look no farther than New Orleans. Gov. Kathleen Blanco recently dispatched National Guard troops and State Police to New Orleans to assist the city's police force in dealing with crime.

The proposal to let the president seize control of the National Guard presumably results from a dispute that occurred after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. The Bush administration wanted to take control of National Guard units. Blanco refused. Other governors subsequently supported her.

We acknowledge there are times when federalization of National Guard troops is justified, but those are relatively rare events.

The president, as commander in chief, has the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard at his disposal, after all.

The states, not the federal government, should have first call on National Guard troops to supplement local and state law enforcement in civil emergencies and natural disasters.

Unfortunately, the states' ability to rely on the National Guard already has been sorely limited by the Bush administration's massive deployment of part-time National Guard troops, including many from Louisiana, for extended duty in the Mideast. National Guard troops also have been deployed to address illegal immigration on the nation's southwest border.

The regular, full-time military should handle operations in overseas war zones; the part-time warriors in the National Guard should be held in reserve at home.

We fear the administration's extensive use of the National Guard in the Mideast will adversely affect future enlistments in the National Guard.

The proposal before Congress, supported by the Bush administration, is yet another federal power grab by a supposedly conservative Republican White House.

The White House should disavow this effort to strip the states' elected governors of shared authority over National Guard troops.

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People www.louisianahelp.org