Not LAW ENFORCEMENT troops unless they changed something in the Home Land Security act that I am unaware of. He can, and is, sending more troops but they will be civil affairs type troops not combat arms. He is stuck in a perfect Catch 22 vilified for not doing something he legally cannot do while the REAL villains Mayor Nagel and Gov Blanco dance around screaming CYA pap to the eager ears of the mythically "objective" Dinosaur Press. The City has to tell the STATE what they need. I mean think about it. The CITY is at the point of disaster. How the hell can the State or Feds KNOW what is needed until the CITY Govt. TELLS them? It would appeared Mayor Nagel did not, until WENSDAY, ask for law enforcement support. Then Ms Blanco sends in a patetic 300 THREE ZERO ZERO armed NG troops THURSDAY to restore order. The State has to use it law enforcement and NG assets to address the physical security rudiments for FEMA. FEMA has no Law Enforcement powers. If the State feels it has insufficient resources, it can request additional NG support from any of the other 49 states. What can, but is hardly ever actually been done, is the State can ask for REGULAR Military troops from the Feds. I guess you could make an argument that Bush could declare a collapse of Civil Authority but with the Mayor and the Gov running around giving press briefs, be legally indefensible. You know dang well Ms Nancy and the hysteric in the Black Congressional Caucus would have a bill of Impeachment on the House floor Monday if he did it. I cannot manage anything more calculated to inflame the Hysteric Left then Pres Bush over riding the legal authority of a Democrat Black Mayor and a Dem Female Governor. Then instead of "Too little too late" it would be "Racist sexist cowboy acts unilaterally AGAIN".
One other quick note. The Pres can send in the troops if the State Gov is acting in defiance of Federal Authority. Eisenhower, a REPUBLICAN, sent in the troops in 1956 to LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS to slap down a DEMOCRAT Governor who was using the National Guard to prevent implementation of a Supreme Court order on School Segregation.
During my visit I discussed these problems at length with Governor Riley of Alabama, Governor Barbour of Mississippi, Governor Blanco of Louisiana and Mayor Nagin of New Orleans. Each state will have its own set of challenges and issues to solve. Yet all of us agree that more can be done to improve our ability to restore order and deliver relief in a timely and effective manner. This morning I received a briefing on the latest developments on the ground. Right now there are more than 21,000 National Guard troops operating in Louisiana and Mississippi, and more are on the way. More than 13,000 of these troops are in Louisiana. The main priority is to restore and maintain law and order, and assist in recovery and evacuation efforts. In addition to these National Guard forces, the Department of Defense has deployed more than 4,000 active duty forces to assist in search and recovery, and provide logistical and medical support. Hour by hour, the situation on the ground is improving. Yet the enormity of the task requires more resources and more troops. Today I ordered the Department of Defense to deploy additional active duty forces to the region. Over the next 24 to 72 hours, more than 7,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne, from the 1st Cavalry, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force will arrive in the affected areas. These forces will be on the ground and operating under the direct command of General Russ Honore.
Thank you GOD for this man. Slapped sense into the Louisiana Democrats that they NEED US Combat troops there. Bet you anything the forces mentioned above do NOT end up anywhere in Alabama or Mississippi. What an amazing contrast to the 3 days of hysteria , posturing and finger pointing from the Dems leadership.