Bush Extends Conscription of a National Guard that Has No Business Being in Iraq.

January 12, 2007 by mugsy.

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SPECIAL EDITION:

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On Friday (1/12/07) the Bush Administration eliminated the 24 month limit on how long National Guard troops can be conscripted into “Active Duty”:

The Pentagon has lifted the limit on how long the Guard and reservists can be required to serve on active duty.
 
Until now, cumulative active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That limit is now lifted. The limit on 24 consecutive months remains.

In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson described use of the National Guard as:

“…a well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace, and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them.“

Title 10 of the U.S. Constitution permits the President to Federalize the National Guard under the following conditions:

Whenever—

(1) the United States, or any of the Territories, Commonwealths, or possessions, is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation;
 
(2) there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States; or
 
(3) the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States;

the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws. Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia.

In 2002, the Neo-Conservative think tank, “The Heritage Foundation“, explained the Presidents’ power to Federalize the National Guard after 9/11 on the following grounds:

This role, however, will require further definition. Given the reality that the homeland is a theater of war, as well as the imminent threat of terrorism and the increasing likelihood that U.S. civilians may be targeted at home in future conflicts…

Clearly, this is not the case with the war in Iraq. Our National Guard was Federalized into full-time active duty after 9/11/2001 in order to supplement the military to go after Al Qaeda and defend the U.S. from another attack. In 2003, that mission was extended to Iraq on the VERY shaky grounds that Saddam Hussein was “an Imminent Threat” to the United States with his Weapons of Mass Destruction and ties to al Qaeda. When those justifications fell flat, the justification was changed to “Liberate the Iraqi people”.

“Liberating the Iraqi people” is NOT a justified use of the National Guard. No “WMD’s” or “ties to al Qaeda” instantly eliminated any threat of “invasion” by Iraq or its supposed sympathizers. Regardless of whether or not you believe Iraq was ever a threat to the United States, the moment Saddam Hussein was pulled from that “Spider Hole“ in December of 2003, that threat was eliminated and our NG troops should of come home.

President Bush’s 21,500 troop “augmentation” will depend heavily on the National Guard and Reservists. You may be asking yourself: “Why 21,500? Why not 22,000 or 25,000?” Because that is the absolute maximum they can scrounge up, pulling troops from other vital interests around the world (the Korean DMZ for example), and now holding Guard troops for more than 24 months, the military has been maxed out. The Bush Administration has tipped its hand. Insurgents in Iraq now know that we can’t send in any more troops. That’s it. So, if they just hold out long enough, they know there is no “Plan B”. And all this saber-rattling against Iran & Syria, they now know is just that.

We have had as many as 165,000 troops in Iraq at one time, and the country could not be brought under control. We presently have 145,000 troops in Iraq. This “surge” will up that number to 166,500. Is the Pentagon SO incompetent that “all we needed was just 1,500 more troops” and the war could of been “won” three years ago? I don’t think so. 166,500 troops in the midsts of a civil war are not going to be able to achieve anything 165,000 troops could not achieve fighting an insurgency.

Our Reservists and National Guard troops have no business Nation Building or refereeing a Civil War in Iraq. As described in “Title 10″, the Governors of each state have the power to recall those National Guard troops back to the United States. It is past time for them to exercise that right.

Photo snapped of National Guard troops THREE YEARS AGO:

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