NEW YORK PEACE NETWORK Alert #190

Dear Peace Advocate,

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The holidays are a time to be with family and friends. But for the millions of people with family members and friends serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the holidays will be a less joyous celebration.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have put an enormous strain on all of the men and women of the United States military. It is especially hard on those serving in the National Guard, who have often shortchanged their families, finances and careers to accommodate lengthy, repeated and unexpected tours of active duty overseas.

Today more than 500,000 members of the Army and Air National Guard are serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. 2,500 of them are New Yorkers.

The National Guard is ideally designed to reinforce homeland security. It is the first line of defense within our borders during times of unexpected and temporary crisis. Unfortunately, the Guard cannot perform these essential functions properly given the way they are being used today – as substitutes for the general Army and Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the immediate wake of the attack on the World Trade Center, the New York Army and Air National Guard mobilized over 8,000 personnel to secure the area, rush in supplies, and assist in rescue and recovery. In the aftermath of Katrina, with over 70,000 National Guard troops deployed to Iraq, many believe that the use of the Guard in Iraq left us vulnerable on the home front. Deploying the Guard overseas has created a dangerous drain on both manpower and equipment. Nearly 90% of the Army National Guard has less than half the equipment they need to respond to a national emergency.

The Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, passed by Congress in 2002, had two clearly defined and limited goals: to defend the United States against weapons of mass destruction, and to enforce all relevant United Nations resolutions. As we now know that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction, and all of the UN resolutions have expired, the legal basis for federalizing and deploying the National Guard has expired. The President no longer has a tenable basis for calling up the New York National Guard to serve in Iraq.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the right of the federal government to call up National Guard troops - but it has also said that governors can refuse if that request is not supported by a Congressional authorization for the use of military force.

The National Guard didn't volunteer to fight wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. We need them to protect our own nation. We need to bring them home. But we can’t do it without your help.

In your five minutes for peace this week, help bring home the New York State National Guard by signing this petition.

In August, New York State Senators Bill Perkins and Eric Adams announced their joint sponsorship of a resolution to defederalize the National Guard. They plan on reintroducing the resolution when the New York legislature reconvenes in January. The legislation will call on Gov. David A. Paterson to use his authority to challenge calls from the federal government to use the New York National Guard for service in Iraq. Please ask your State Senator to support the resolution to bring the guard home.

Futher Resources

Download a printable petition (pdf)
Download more information on the National Guard (pdf)
Great editorial about the National Guard (New York Times, December 13th, 2008)

In Peace,

Mai Gad
Peace Action Fund of New York State
info@panys.org