Can a state governor simply withdraw National Guard forces from Iraq?

[Hugabear]

Think about what a powerful anti-war statement that would be. A state governor pulling all of his/her National Guard units out of Iraq. We're coming up on wildfire and hurricane seasons, and there are plenty of other things that Guard units could be doing around a state. Can this happen?

[HereSince1628]

1. No

Governors lose in power struggle over National Guard
By Kavan Peterson, Staff Writer

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=170453


A little-noticed change in federal law packs an important change in who is in charge the next time a state is devastated by a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina.

To the dismay of the nation’s governors, the White House now will be empowered to go over a governor’s head and call up National Guard troops to aid a state in time of natural disasters or other public emergencies. Up to now, governors were the sole commanders in chief of citizen soldiers in local Guard units during emergencies within the state.

A conflict over who should control Guard units arose in the days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. President Bush sought to federalize control of Guardsmen in Louisiana in the chaos after the hurricane, but Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) refused to relinquish command.

Over objections from all 50 governors, Congress in October tweaked the 200-year-old Insurrection Act to empower the hand of the president in future stateside emergencies. In a letter to Congress, the governors called the change "a dramatic expansion of federal authority during natural disasters that could cause confusion in the command-and-control of the National Guard and interfere with states' ability to respond to natural disasters within their borders."

<snip>

[Hugabear]

2. I would love to see a governor push this as far as possible

Meaning, issue orders to the general in charge of that state's units to deploy back home. Then fight it out in court, take it all the way to the SCOTUS if necessary.

[CanonRay]

3. I thought I read that Vermont was trying to do just that.

But I never heard the outcome.

[ileus]

4. NO: they don't call the prez commander and chef for no reason.

[Hugabear]

5. Honestly, if I were the governor of a Gulf Coast or Western state, I'd tell Bush to fuck himself

With hurricane season drawing near, and with another summer of wildfires approaching, I would say that we need our state's Guard units available. I would order my National Guard forces to come home, and then let BushCo fight it in court. If he wants to use them in an overseas war, let him get Congress to declare war first.

Oh yes, I'd fight it all the way to the Supreme Court.

on edit: I'm sure the governors of the Midwest states dealing with record floods wouldn't mind having their Guard units either.