http://www.truthout.org/021109JGoing on its seventh year, the Iraq war has taken its toll on not only the US military, but also on the states's National Guard units, which were called up when Congress passed the 2002 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. Now a growing state-level movement is working to keep the Guard at home.
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The president can call up the states's Guard units in a time of war. But when the mandate for war becomes obsolete, say members of the Bring the Guard Home: It's the Law (BTGH) campaign, sending those troops overseas is illegal. BTGH members and their allies are now sponsoring a chain of bills and resolutions in states across the country, demanding an investigation into the legality of deploying the Guard to Iraq, and a refusal to comply with any illegal federal orders.
"There is not Congressional authorization for the use of the Guard today," Vermont State Rep. Mike Fisher told Truthout. "One Guard member improperly called into federal service to fight a war - that's a real problem. Choosing to go to war is one of the most serious decisions
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In fact, according to Scotch, the ascendancy of a new president with "a humane ethic and a sound view of the Constitution" opens up new possibilities for the BTGH movement, just as it does for health care advocates, environmentalists and civil rights activists. Scotch hopes that Obama might become the first president to endorse the War Powers Act of 1973.
"The Bush years and the Iraq war experience teach us that the smart sharing of war powers is still the best response to an increasingly dangerous world," Scotch said.
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the Natl. Guard should be home in their own states, not in some other country.
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