Guard awaits details of Bush's call for more troops to Iraq
BISMARCK, N.D. - Hundreds of North Dakota National Guard soldiers and airmen already have been mobilized in support of the war on terror - some as many as three times since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the state Guard commander says.
Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk said Wednesday he wanted to hear details of President Bush's call for an additional 21,500 American forces in Iraq, and he said it could take weeks to get all the information.
“What the future holds for us - we don't know,” Sprynczynatyk said, hours before the president's speech. “Until we hear the details, we'll have to wait to find out the impact, if any, of how we've been doing business over there the last several years.”
In a prime-time address to the nation, Bush said he was increasing the number of troops to quell the country's near-anarchy.
“Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,” Bush said.
He pushed back against the Democrats' calls to end the unpopular war.
He said “to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government, tear that country apart and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale.”
Military officials in Washington said Bush's order includes one major combat unit that was not otherwise scheduled to go to Iraq, and extended stays or earlier departures for units based in Minnesota, Kansas, Georgia and Washington.
About 3,200 Guard soldiers and airmen from the state have been mobilized in support of the war on terror since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sprynczynatyk said.
The Guard has 128 soldiers and airmen who volunteered to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan two times, and 13 are on their third deployment, Sprynczynatyk said.
Fourteen U.S. service members from North Dakota or serving with North Dakota military units have been reported killed while on duty in Iraq. Four others were killed in Afghanistan.
Grand Forks City Council member Mike McNamara, a Marine reservist major, has served about a year and a half in two tours of duty in Iraq.
“Most of my (military) friends would go back in a heartbeat, as I would,” McNamara said. “We are desperate to see it concluded. Then, there are some of my friends who believe enough is enough and say it's time for the Iraqi people to suck it up and stand for themselves.”
McNamara, who also hosts the “Mac Talk” radio show in Grand Forks, said he took a poll on his show on Wednesday that found most of his listeners support the president and his plan for more troops.
“It somewhat surprised me,” he said.
McNamara said sending more troops to Iraq is “a component of the answer.”
“Taking the military option out of the hands of the militia makes them come to the table politically,” he said.
“There also has to be a component of greater effort on the Iraqi side and there's got to be an economic component,” McNamara said.
Jobs programs and economic development are impossible “until we get the security situation under control and demonstrate to the militia that they are not going to win this thing violently,” he said.
Members of North Dakota's Democratic congressional delegation were less optimistic than McNamara's radio callers.
After Bush's speech, Sen. Byron Dorgan called the troop increase a “mistake,” while Rep. Earl Pomeroy said he doesn't think it's going to work.
Pomeroy said the most important component of any strategy is a firm commitment to peace among warring factions in the region.
“In going down this path, I believe the president has rejected the prevailing views of Americans and the feelings that are present on Capitol Hill, in both parties,” he said.
The North Dakota National Guard had a troop strength of 3,268 soldiers and 988 airmen on Wednesday, Guard spokesman Rob Keller said. The numbers and moral are strong, Keller said.
Wartime patriotism and recruiting incentives for soldiers helped the state Guard set a record for recruiting and troop retention in fiscal 2006, Keller said.
For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Guard reported 534 new recruits and only 14 percent of the Guard's soldiers left the service during the fiscal year, he said.
The North Dakota Guard is on track to meet its goal of 3,300 soldiers at the end of fiscal 2007, Keller said.
“Young men and women still want to become part of something bigger than themselves,” Keller said.