0domestic%20security
Bush wants local troops involved in domestic security
by SANDRA SOBIERAJ © Associated Press Writer 2/15/01 CHARLESTON, W.Va.
President Bush, a one-time National Guardsman, told Guard and Reserve troops
Wednesday that he shares their worries about overdeployment. "We're going to
be reluctant to put troops on the ground to keep people apart, warring
parties apart," he said.
The president said he wanted to see the Guard and Reserve "more involved in
homeland security."
On a visit to the nation's No. 2 coal-producing state, Bush also said coal
would be central to his energy policy to reduce dependence on foreign oil and
avoid crises like the electricity shortage in California.
"Coal is in abundant supply here in America and my job ... will be to
convince many in the country who don't believe we can have a clean air policy
and burn coal at the same time," Bush said.
Gov. Bob Wise, a Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who
accompanied the Republican president, applauded his support for the coal
industry.
On this Valentine's Day, Bush sent a dozen roses to his wife, Laura, who has
been at their Texas ranch for two weeks. She reciprocated with a heart-shaped
coconut cream pie, aides said.
There was an element of payback to the three-hour visit to West Virginia,
whose five electoral votes Bush won despite the state's traditional
Democratic leanings.
"Three times last year you promised us you'd be back if you won," Col.
William Raney told Bush. "Well, you won and you're back."
Next week, Bush turns his attention from national security -- the theme of
three day trips to military units this week -- to the looming budget battle
with Congress. He is expected to make "thank you" trips to three other states
that went for him last year -- Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee -- and try to
whip up public demand for the tax-cut and education plans he has submitted to
Congress.
"He wants members of Congress to hear from their constituents," senior White
House adviser Karen Hughes said. "There's also a sense of thanking people
there for supporting him."
Hughes said the White House has scheduled Feb. 27 for Bush's prime-time
speech to a joint session of Congress, a new president's equivalent of the
annual State of the Union address. He will submit a budget to Congress the
next day, she said.
Bush's speech Wednesday concluded the week's spotlight on his interest in
increased defense spending and what he called "a clarified mission" for U.S.
forces.
In a discussion with two dozen Guard and Reserve personnel and their
private-sector employers, Bush heard from Herchiel Sims Jr., president of
Acordia Employers Service, which handles workers' compensation claims for
employers. Sims said that because of the nation's increasing reliance on
reservists, "Our people and our companies are caught in the middle."
Bush, taking notes with a chubby black marker, replied: "I'm worried that we
are trying to be all things to all people around the world and therefore
creating the tension that you accurately described. It's not only a tension
for employer to employee, it's tensions oftentimes between husband and wife."
Two operations that now depend on Guard and Reserve personnel are Operation
Joint Forge, which flies out of Germany to supply peacekeepers in the
Balkans, and Operation Coronet Oak, based in Puerto Rico and flying relief
supplies and equipment into Central and South America.
Bush promised "no precipitous withdrawal from the (overseas) commitments we
inherited." But he added that he would, as commander in chief, be more
"careful" and "judicious" about peacekeeping deployments.
"The National Guard and Reservists will be more involved in homeland
security, confronting acts of terror and the disorder our enemies may try to
create," said Bush, who stayed out of Vietnam after he landed a slot in the
Texas Air National Guard in 1968.
While at the West Virginia National Guard headquarters, Bush highlighted one
of its "homeland" missions by touring the emergency operations center, where
guardsmen and women were simulating a flood disaster response. Bush said he
was impressed by the video-conferencing technology that beamed onto the wall
a live picture of personnel at a command center some 100 miles away.
He waved at the image, then frowned. "They're not waving back."
Bush plans to sign and release the first of three military policy directives
Thursday, this one dealing with ways the Pentagon can improve the quality of
life for U.S. soldiers.
