- The men and women of the National Guard shouldn't be
killing in Iraq. They should be helping in New Orleans and Biloxi.
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- The catastrophic hurricane was an act of God. But the
U.S. war effort in Iraq is a continuing act of the president. And now,
that effort is hampering the capacity of the National Guard to save lives
at home.
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- Before the flooding of New Orleans drastically escalated
on Tuesday, the White House tried to disarm questions that could be politically
explosive. "To those of you who are concerned about whether or not
we're prepared to help, don't be, we are," President Bush said. "We're
in place, we've got equipment in place, supplies in place, and once the
-- once we're able to assess the damage, we'll be able to move in and help
those good folks in the affected areas."
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- Echoing the official assurances, CBS News reported: "Even
though more than a third of Mississippi's and Louisiana's National Guard
troops are either in Iraq or supporting the war effort, the National Guard
says there are more than enough at home to do the job.
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- But after New Orleans levees collapsed and the scope
of the catastrophe became more clear, such reassuring claims lost credibility.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday: "With thousands of their
citizen-soldiers away fighting in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina
scrambled to muster forces for rescue and security missions yesterday --
calling up Army bands and water-purification teams, among other units,
and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty military."
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- The back-page Post story added: "National Guard
officials in the states acknowledged that the scale of the destruction
is stretching the limits of available manpower while placing another extraordinary
demand on their troops -- most of whom have already served tours in Iraq
or Afghanistan or in homeland defense missions since 2001."
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- Speaking for the Mississippi National Guard, Lt. Andy
Thaggard said: "Missing the personnel is the big thing in this particular
event. We need our people." According to the Washington Post, the
Mississippi National Guard "has a brigade of more than 4,000 troops
in central Iraq" while "Louisiana also has about 3,000 Guard
troops in Baghdad."
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- National Guard troops don't belong in Iraq. They should
be rescuing and protecting in Louisiana and Mississippi, not patrolling
and killing in a country that was invaded on the basis of presidential
deception. They should be fighting the effects of flood waters at home
-- helping people in the communities they know best -- not battling Iraqi
people who want them to go away.
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- Let's use the Internet today to forward and post this
demand so widely that the politicians in Washington can no longer ignore
it:
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- Bring the National Guard home. Immediately.
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- Bring Them Home...NOW!
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- The National Guard Belongs in New Orleans and Biloxi
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- Not Baghdad
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