Vt. Lawmakers Want Nat'l Guard Back Home

(CBS/AP)  Fed up that Washington hasn't done more to end the war, a group of Vermont lawmakers said this week that the president no longer has the authority to use Guard troops in Iraq.

State Rep. Michael Fisher said the authority to call up Guard members for Iraq duty has expired because that country no longer poses a threat to U.S. national security.

"The mission authorized in 2002 does not exist," said Fisher. "Unless Congress grants a new authorization, the Vermont Guard should revert back to state control."

Fisher introduced a bill Wednesday, backed by 30 colleagues, that called on Gov. Jim Douglas to join the effort.

"Most of us standing here, maybe all of us, have made objections in the past about the morality or wisdom of this war. Today we are limiting ourselves to one vital principle: the rule of law," Fisher said.

"Questions about whether the war is going well or the surge is going well should be left for other days. We have a special interest in the welfare of the Vermont National Guard," said Fisher.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin said the Senate would take up similar legislation.

"Bottom line is, if the politicians in Washington aren't going to do the right thing for our troops, let's do the right thing by bringing our Vermont Guard members home," he said.

"If Vermont can make one small step forward, I believe others will follow," Shumlin said.

Several other states, including Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are looking at similar legislation.

There are currently 25 Vermont guard members in Iraq, but the bill would also prevent future deployments of the state's Guard members to Iraq.

A spokesman for Gov. Jim Douglas said Douglas can't stop the use of Guard troops in the war.

"It's clear that's there's no legal basis for stopping the federalization of the National Guard when Congress has authorized and continues to fund a war," said Douglas' spokesman Jason Gibbs. "The bottom line is, this a federal issue."

He said Douglas would rather see Congress develop an exit strategy to bring the troops home as soon as possible.

Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, head of the Vermont National Guard, refused to comment until he could read the bill.

Shortly after the bill was introduced in the Vermont legislature, a commission on the Army National Guard and Reserves issued a report saying that, in part because of the deployments of guard members and equipment overseas and insufficient training, the U.S. military is ill-prepared to handle a catastrophic event (such as a biological or nuclear attack) within the U.S. homeland.

[michellem99-2009]

i know from the get go the ng is in nation..they belong to the states. Not ont of nation. I am a Mainer IN Seattle. I don''t join them protests against this illgal war. This is over oil..oil..

[kansas1946]

If Vermont can make one small step forward, I believe others will follow," Shumlin said.

Several other states, including Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are looking at similar legislation.

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Good for these states. I hope they do it. It is about time someone really "supported our troops"

[michellem99-2009]

Amen..ye said it.

[simonsez40]

One has to wonder what Jesus would say about war being waged in his name today. %u201CIf people want to do battle for God, they cannot claim Jesus has called them to this task, since he told Pilate that his ministers would not do that.%u201D In fact, Jesus %u201Cnever accepted violence as justified.%u201D

He spoke truth to power and engaged in active resistance to injustice. In my opinion, Jesus would have intervened to defend someone being violently mistreated, and I believe we must do the same. But he would never have engaged in violence as the means to an end.

[simonsez40]

Not surprisingly, the early Christians were not crusaders or warriors but martyrs %u2013 men and women with the faith and courage to face the lions. Like Jesus, they chose to suffer rather than inflict violence.

When Jesus said %u201CBlessed are the peacemakers,%u201D exhorting his followers to turn the other cheek and give freely, he was telling us that active peacemaking is the way to end war. Can you imagine what the world would be like if every church adopted that attitude and focused its energies on active peacemaking?

Seems the Church and the Christians have lost their way from peacemakers to warmongers.......and hypocrites that support a corrupt and warmongering President.

[simonsez40]

In fact God''s word has never supported death and destruction all in the name of God.

The so-called Roman peace (Pax Romana) was made possible by the cross. That is, people so feared crucifixion that many opted not to challenge the emperor rather than face the possibility of death on the cross. Why then would early Christians choose the cross %u2013 an instrument of torture, domination, fear, intimidation and death %u2013 as their primary symbol? What could this possibly mean?

For early Christians, %u201Cit apparently meant that the kingdom of God would triumph not by inflicting violence but by enduring it,%u201D %u201Cnot by making others suffer but by willingly enduring suffering for the sake of justice %u2013 not by coercing or humiliating others but by enduring their humiliation with gentle dignity.%u201D Jesus, they believed, had taken the empire%u2019s instrument of torture and transformed it into God%u2019s symbol of the repudiation of violence. The message? Love, not violence, is the most powerful force in the universe.

[simonsez40]

singinrick - you twist the scriptures around and to uphold YOUR INTERPRETATIONS and then claim they are Christ''s words.

Jesus%u2019 apostles never advocated violence. Rather, they urged their followers to suffer, forgive and trust God for the outcome rather than take matters into their own hands. And while they may have talked about warfare and fighting, it was not through the use of conventional weapons. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote: %u201CFor though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.%u201D

[michellem99-2009]

I am NOT yer judge. It is fact America is not and never was a Christian nation. There is sep of church and state..IWhy the bullyimg..If I remember the gent at the centre This bully session is a vet..Ye know raised his paw.Years ago I was called a nickmamed I hated and I told the person to not call me it..he called me it and I never answered to it..he gave up. I may not see eye to eye with some who we talk to..But Rick is Rick..Step up to the plate and be hamame..I got something to say I say to ye..not CBS..I don''t think we have to be so bloody nasty..Ye don''t have read what yer don''t want..I hate bullies..I am 53. Singingrick has been bullied and that is not very humame. Ye don''t believe as him..fine. I lived at a blind centre and we could not bring up the Lord in public there. I was free to say my prayers. I am a ex mormon and i trully dislike them. It was a person like rick that got me out of mormonism.

[amishcar]

Only Ron Paul is talking about bringing the US troops home from Iraq right now. Obama,Hillary,Romney and Mccain are talking about more wars and keep the US troops overburdened for many many decades to come. Do your Homework and Learn about Ron Paul. Spread the truth. Or get used to the US troops being screwed.

[tkwjbb]

Just bring them all home!!