Vodkapundit

By Stephen Green

Bio

Get Updates From Stephen Green

The Pentagon Papers (Over the Problem)

August 10, 2009 - 5:35 pm - by Stephen Green

I’m with the governors on this one:

A bipartisan pair of governors is opposing a new Defense Department proposal to handle natural and terrorism-related disasters, contending that a murky chain of command could lead to more problems than solutions.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), chairman of the National Governors Association, and Vice Chairman Gov. Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia penned a letter opposing the Pentagon proposal, which they said would hinder a state’s effort to respond to a disaster.

Advertisement

Current law gives governors control over National Guard forces in their own states as well as any Guard units and Defense Department personnel imported from other states.

The letter comes as the Pentagon proposes a legislative fix that would give the secretary of Defense the authority to assist in response to domestic disasters and, consequently, control over units stationed in an affected state.

Katrina was a charlie-foxtrot for a number of reasons, and I suspect this attempt at nationalization is in reaction to that. Still, the supposed cure looks worse than the disease.

PJ Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:

1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.

2. Stay on topic.

3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.

4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.

5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.

These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that PJ Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pjmedia.com.

1 Comments, 1 Threads

  1. 1. McGehee

    Oh, this is a marvelous idea, simply marvelous. One idiot gubnor fraks up in front of the world so now every future gubnor in every one of the 57 states is to be treated like a Blanco.

    This is an example of why government is no better than a necessary evil. Everything it touches, it first fraks up, and then fraks up even worse trying to fix the first frak-up.

    August 10, 2009 - 8:44 pm   Link to this Comment