Washblog

Governor, Defederalize the state National Guard - 2002 authorization has expired.

Read two stories this morning that prompt me to post to Washblog.  One story is titled 'New York State Senators Call For Defederalizing The National Guard' (link) and (link).  The other story, more local, Centralia, Lewis County, WA is titled 'Heading Out'(link) citing account at Centralia Armory of Washington state National Guard heading out for Iraq.  

Other states that are moving to defederalize National Guard troops include New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, CA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH.  

Did you notice that Washington is not on that list?   Perhaps you'll agree that the 2002 authorization that allowed state national guards to be federalized has expired? So why is Washington state National Guard shipping out to Iraq?  
 ... read on ....

NEW YORK - On Sunday, August 17, 2008, a press conference was held to announce the joint cooperation of State Senators Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn, 20th Dist.) and Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan, 30th Dist.), to introduce in the upcoming January 2009 State Legislative session, a resolution to stop the federalization of the New York State National Guard.

Note: I was made aware of the effort in New York and asked to participate in a part of the phone conference planning, given that in Washington state in 2005, we had presented to Governor Gregoire's office the Resolution to Bring Home the Washington state National Guard.  Short end of the story, I wasn't able to participate in the planning conference calls, but I was able to provide the planning committee the information from the campaign we conducted in Washington state in 2005.


Background: Started this year in Vermont by a local state legislator Representative Fisher of Lincoln, working directly with attorneys from The Liberty Tree Foundation for Democracy, the campaign picked up nationally.

Argument:  The campaign is based upon the legal authority that the "2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force" or (AUMF) issued by Congress, based on UN resolutions, has expired.

 The conditions set forth in this AUMF stipulated that;

 (1) "Iraq poses an imminent threat to the security of the United States by having weapons of mass destruction; and,
 (2) "Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat to the security of the United States and its allies."

These conditions have been met, there is no "national emergency" allowing the use of our state militia any longer, so therefore it should cease and desist.


  The governor has the power to decide if our National Guard troops are to be used on a federal level.  Governor Gregoire was last challenged in early 2005, when she won a hard-fought election and was the newly elected governor.  It was also at a time when the political climate in our country was one that refused to challenge this President's Administration on much of anything, let alone the patriotism of war fervor.

  It is election time again - today, in fact - another of those 'sensitive' times.  I got the robocalls from Governor Gregoire last week reminding me to vote on Tuesday, and another from Senator Patty Murray over the weekend reminding me to vote on Tuesday.

Actually, I was glad to get a reminder call to vote, because I had laid my mail in ballot aside, had out of town company and forgot about my ballot.  I completed it, and have no problem acknowledging that I voted for Christine Gregoire - again.  

We'll know soon enough who will be governing Washington state.  I hope other citizens will join the efforts to encourage our Washington state governor to challenge the continued need to federalize our state citizen soldiers for deployment to Iraq.  


A shout out - for a comprehensive review, take at look at Mark Jensen's review;  Redeployment to Iraq is misuse of Washington National Guard (link)



Archival;

Families want Guard excused from Iraq at Tacoma News Tribune, March 8, 2005 (link)

'Group looks to bring National Guard home' at WSU Daily Evergreen newspaper, April 4, 2005. (link)

  The March 2005 article at the Daily Olympian by Brad Shannon is no longer online.  Copy at the Washington state Military Families Speak Out website - website since retired:

Monday, March 7, 2005

Action:  Delegation from Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace traveled to Olympia State Capitol Monday, March 7, to meet with Governor's Office and present the Resolution compelling Governor Gregoire to call home the National Guard troops.

Meeting was with Executive Policy Advisor, Antonio Ginatta, of the Governor's Executive Policy Office.  Antonio Ginatta was receptive, attentive and encouraging in listening to the delegations concerns, as well as receiving the Resolution. he indicated there will be continued meetings.

Resolution presented to Washington State Governor, Christine Gregoire

Washington State Citizens' Call Upon Governor Christine Gregoire to Affirmatively Act to Seek Withdrawal of National Guard Troops from Iraq:

Comments from Executive Policy Advisor, Antonio Ginatta, as reported in the Daily Olympian:

Fort Lewis soldier's family urges Gregoire to oppose deployment

by Brad Shannon
THE OLYMPIAN

Three military-family activists hoping to pull U.S. troops back from Iraq have met with an aide to Gov. Christine Gregoire, urging her to question President Bush's authority to keep Washington National Guard troops deployed in the occupied country.

"This group was very serious ... very direct. The governor will hear about it, and we'll see where she goes with it," said Antonio Ginatta, Gregoire's policy adviser on general government issues, including the military.
Ginatta met with Susan Livingston, sister of Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade member Joe Blickenstaff, who died in Iraq, as well as widow Angela Blickenstaff and Lietta Ruger. Ruger said she has a nephew and son-in-law who served in Iraq.

"He said there will be continued dialogue," Livingston said of Ginatta after the meeting. Blickenstaff was among the first Fort Lewis-based Stryker soldiers to die in Iraq, and Livingston said "the governor has a duty to do everything in her power to bring our National Guard troops home as soon as possible, and to make certain they stay here, where we need them."

In a move the activists said was repeated in Oregon with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, they pointed out to Ginatta that the state's drought conditions make it more likely Washington will need Guard troops to deal with wildfire.

The three women are affiliated with military family groups such as the Washington Chapter of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Against the War.

They noted that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Friday asked the Pentagon to return some of that state's Guardsmen in order to fight wildfires. CNN quoted Schweitzer as saying: "Somebody's going to have a blowup. Is it Northern Idaho, is it Eastern Washington, or is it Montana?"

"I know our governor has expressed a particular concern for our veterans returning home from Iraq," Ginatta said. "So I know she will be interested in hearing about the meeting. ... This will get raised to her in the next couple of days."


And for archival purposes at WB, the text of the Resolution that was presented to Governor Gregoire on March 7, 2005.

Resolution to Bring Home Washington State National Guard - March 2005

Washington State Citizens' Call Upon Governor Christine Gregoire to Affirmatively Act to Seek Withdrawal of National Guard Troops from Iraq:

Whereas, the conditions underlying the Authorization for use of Military Force against Iraq Resolution (PL 107-243), have been proven false or declared invalid;

Whereas, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), was unable to find any connection between the tragedy of 9-11 and the people or government of Iraq;

Whereas, the President has declared the weapons of mass destruction, one of the pretexts for preemptory action, do not exist;
Whereas, there never was a threat to the security of the United States posed by Saddam Hussein or the people of Iraq;

Whereas, the January elections in Iraq, the election of a National Assembly, and the effort to create a new constitution, all applauded by the President as indications of the birth of democracy in the region, also serve to indicate that Iraq no longer represents a threat, real or imagined, to the security of the United States;

Whereas, the United Nations sanctions, also tied to the weapons of mass destruction and to the regime of Saddam Hussein, and which serve as a secondary basis for the authorization of military action, are no longer valid, and whereas even the United States is calling for the end of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC); Whereas, the Governor and State Legislature have a particular responsibility to the members of the Washington National Guard, their families and to the community that they serve;

Whereas, the Washington National Guard was created, in part, for the protection of the citizens of Washington from natural disasters or threats of violence within the state boundaries, as well as to protect the sovereignty of US borders;

Whereas, Washington's National Guard troops have been called up in
unprecedented numbers, at nearly the highest per capita level of any state, to serve on active duty in Iraq;

Whereas, National Guard troops have been poorly equipped and have received only rudimentary training for service in this war, and are therefore suffering casualties at rates considerably higher than those of regular Army troops;

Whereas, Washington's National Guard troops are being subjected to unfair and involuntary extensions of duty well beyond the terms of their enlistment contracts,and their families, employers and communities have had to bear the hardship of accommodating the prolonged absence of the Guard members;

Whereas, the National Guard at home in Washington has been decimated by the mobilization of our troops for these foreign wars, and whereas, a disproportionate number of National Guard members, in civilian life, serve as police officers, firefighters, EMT personnel, prison guards, etc., their absence has left our own communities vulnerable and ill-prepared for any natural disaster or terrorist attack
within our own state borders;

Whereas, fewer and fewer Washingtonians are willing to enlist in the National Guard because of the inappropriate use and unfair treatment of Guard troops by the US Defense Department and Army, leaving the likelihood that Washington could be left unprotected for years to come;

Whereas, the prospect of further cuts to federal spending in human services and other local assistance programs, and the threat of additional cuts tothe already criminally impoverished Veterans Administration, will place additional demands on currently overstressed state and local social services;

Therefore Be It Resolved: The citizens of the State of Washington demand the Governor exercise her power as Commander-in-Chief of the Washington National Guard to publicly compel the President of the United States to justify the continued deployment of Washington National Guard personnel in, or in support of, the military incursion in Iraq, pursuant to PL 107-243, and further to pursue and exhaust every avenue in her power to immediately bring, or cause to be
brought home, all Washington National Guard troops presently serving in Iraq, or in training for that war, and to prevent their re-deployment in support thereof.

Presented by:  Military Families Speak Out. Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, and National Lawyers Guild

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