Congress needs to fire a real warning shot on the Iraq War

[struggle4progress]

Eliminating Presidential power to misuse National Guard troops is a possible angle.

Destroying the National Guard
September 24, 2004
By WILLIAM S. LIND
... One of the likely effects of the disastrous war in Iraq will be the destruction of an old American institution, the National Guard. Desperate for troops as the situation in Iraq deteriorates, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is using the National Guard in a mission for which it was never intended: carrying on a "war of choice" halfway around the world. Most Guardsmen enlisted expecting to help their neighbors in natural disasters, or perhaps maintain order locally in the event of rioting. They never signed up for Vietnam II. Yes, the Guard was mobilized and deployed overseas in both World Wars, but those were true national wars, in which the American people were all involved one way or another ...
http://www.counterpunch.org/lind09242004.html

Ventura criticizes use of National Guard in Iraq
August 24, 2004
... "They are designed to protect us here in the United States of America and in our homeland - not to be occupying nations halfway around the world," Ventura said. "And that is not the role of the National Guard. And in many cases, many of these men are doing things they were never trained to do, which is dangerous for them and dangerous for the war itself." ...
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/08/24_ap_venturairaq/

Critics: National Guard Unprepared for Iraq
Morning Edition, March 14, 2005
... Guard units only train one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer when they are at home. Critics say adding 90-day mobilization training is not enough to prepare troops for what could be two years of deployment in Iraq ...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0918/p02s01-usmi.html

Tuesday, August 30th, 2005
Katrina Rescue Operations: Are National Guard and Equipment Stretched Thin by Iraq War?
... Earlier this month the Louisiana National Guard publicly complained that too much of its equipment was in Iraq. The local ABC news affiliate reported dozens of high water vehicles, Humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad. Other states are facing shortfalls as well when facing fires, floods or other disasters. A few months before summer began, Montana's governor called for that state's National Guard to be brought home from Iraq because of possible wildfires. As is the case with Louisiana's Guard, Montana found that critical equipment was overseas in Iraq. This included the bulk of the Guard's helicopters which are critical in shuttling fire crews and equipment to blazes ...
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/30/1354257

Published on Wednesday, August 31, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
The National Guard Belongs in New Orleans and Biloxi. Not Baghdad.
by Norman Solomon
The men and women of the National Guard shouldn’t be killing in Iraq. They should be helping in New Orleans and Biloxi. The catastrophic hurricane was an act of God. But the U.S. war effort in Iraq is a continuing act of the president. And now, that effort is hampering the capacity of the National Guard to save lives at home ... The back-page Post story added: “National Guard officials in the states acknowledged that the scale of the destruction is stretching the limits of available manpower while placing another extraordinary demand on their troops -- most of whom have already served tours in Iraq or Afghanistan or in homeland defense missions since 2001.” ...
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0831-27.htm

The Iraq Quagmire: The Mounting Costs of War and the Case for Bringing Home the Troops -- A Study by the Institute for Policy Studies and
Foreign Policy In Focus
By Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver and the IPS Iraq Task Force
August 31, 2005
... Roughly 48,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve are currently serving in Iraq—making up nearly 35 percent of the total U.S. forces there. Their deployment puts a particularly heavy burden on their home communities because many are “first responders,” including police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. For example, 44 percent of the country’s police forces have lost officers to Iraq. In some states, the absence of so many Guard troops has raised concerns about the ability to handle fires and other natural disasters ...
http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/quagmire/

U.S. military will not pull National Guard troops from Iraq to deal with hurricane
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 1 — National Guard troops from Louisiana and other Gulf states will not be pulled out of Iraq ahead of schedule despite the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. command said Thursday ...
http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/ap09-01-042156.asp?reg=mideast&vts=9120050457

Bush Policies Are Weakening National Guard, Governors Say
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: February 27, 2006
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 — Governors of both parties said Sunday that Bush administration policies were stripping the National Guard of equipment and personnel needed to respond to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest fires and other emergencies ... Since 2003, the report said, the Army National Guard has left more than 64,000 pieces of equipment, valued at more than $1.2 billion, in Iraq. The Army has not kept track of most of this equipment and has no firm plans to replace it, the report said ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/politics/27govs.html?ex=1298696400&en=a7ec19fa9b989f54&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Posted on Tue, Jan. 09, 2007email thisprint this
Troop surge could affect Guard
PRESIDENT: AN INCREASE IN U.S. FORCES COULD REQUIRE REVERSAL OF PENTAGON POLICY
By Julian E. Barnes
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - Top U.S. military officials, expecting President Bush to order an increase in the size of the force in Iraq, have concluded that such a buildup would require them to reverse Pentagon policy and send the Army's National Guard and reserve units on lengthy second tours in Iraq, defense officials said Monday. Under Pentagon policy, Guard and reserve units have been limited to 24 months of mobilization for the Iraq war. Under that rule, most reserve units already sent to Iraq are ineligible to return. But the Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that a significant buildup would require the Pentagon to overturn the policy and send Guard and reserve units for additional yearlong tours ...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/nation/16416544.htm

[PretzelWarrior]

1. it would be awesome if they joined with moderates

in the Senate to ensure a healthy majority can craft a series of legislation regarding troops. not only how the money is spent, but resolutions on the conduct of the war, etc. etc.

the Senate is the tough one.....from there it can get joined up with similar House bills.

THis should happen 5 days a week 12 hours a day while they are in session.

GO GET 'EM HARRY! KNOCK 'EM DEAD NANCY!