NYT: Montana Governor Sets Off Fight With Call to Bring Guard Home

March 13, 2005
Montana Governor Sets Off Fight With Call to Bring Guard Home
By REUTERS


ULA, Mont., March 12 (Reuters) - Gov. Brian Schweitzer has touched off a political fight with Montana Republicans after calling for the return of National Guard troops serving in Iraq to help out in what many fear will be a record-setting wildfire season.
Mr. Schweitzer, a newly elected Democrat, infuriated Republican lawmakers who see his request as a way to criticize the Bush administration over Iraq.

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Governor Schweitzer said Montana would disproportionately suffer the pain of proposed cuts in the federal budget, with money allocated for firefighting cut in half.
As fire season approaches, about 1,500 of Montana's 3,500 National Guard troops have been deployed on federal active duty, said a Montana Guard spokesman, Maj. Scott Smith.

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The bulk of the Guard's helicopters - critical in shuttling fire crews and equipment to blazes - are unavailable, either because they are in Iraq or their aviation officers are absent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/national/13montana.ht...

other states follow his lead.

The Governor should hold the republicans responsible.

Unlike Saddam's WMD, western wildfires are real.

Enquiring minds need to know what happened to this story.

thanks