Governors Seek Bush Plan on Terror Fight

[Judi Lynn]

Governors Seek Bush Plan on Terror Fight

By ROBERT TANNER
AP National Writer

February 22, 2004, 3:09 PM EST


WASHINGTON -- Governors worried about increasing demands on National Guard units want to hear from the Bush administration about its long-term strategy in the fight against terrorism.

State leaders raised their concerns in a private meeting with the top Guard general and Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge.

"It's not that we're not supportive of the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq," said Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. "We have to kind of step back and rethink the whole picture." Like other governors, he said the part-time soldiery has seen a transformation in recent years.

Guard and Reserve soldiers make up about 22 percent the forces in Iraq. That level is expected to rise to nearly 40 percent as a result of force rotations in the coming months.
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-governors-national-guard,0,7466973.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Guard families are stressed

They aren't sure when their loved ones are coming home, or when they'll be redeployed. They are upset about the lack of adequate Humvee armor and body armor. One engineering battalion's families are having bake sales so that they can pay for their loved ones' airfares back to Arkansas for their R&R. Talk to these folks about how Bush has treated the Guard and they listen!

[PaDUer]

2. The governors are meeting

with * today...was on our news last nite.