We missed news reports of this (if there were any) earlier this month. It's yet another example of how the Bush administration is attempting to not-so-quietly consolidate power into a streamlined federal apparatus with a unitary executive’s hands placed loosely on the controls:
A provision in section 511 of the House-passed DoD Act would allow the President to federalize the National Guard of the states without the consent of the governor. Specifically, this clause amends Title 10 of the United States Code to give the President the authority to take control of the Guard in case of “a serious natural or manmade disaster, accident, or catastrophe that occurs in the United States, its territories and possessions, or Puerto Rico.”Further evidence that George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld are misusing the National Guard in that failed war in Iraq. After all, if this provision is necessary "to give the President the authority to take control of the Guard" in the future, under what authority are Guard members spending multiple tours in the Middle East?
Also further evidence that George really does think of himself as a king.
|