Just two days ago, governors across the country went up in arms to protest the Bush administration's plan to ciphon National Guard resources from across the country to place in a few mega bases, many of which reside in the South. The New York Times' Eric Schmitt, who has been following this story from day one, reports that the administration is now one step closer to its goal.

The Justice Department has concluded that the Pentagon has the authority to move National Guard units without the consent of the state governors, who share control with the president over use of those units, state and federal officials said Thursday.

The legal opinion from the Justice Department is a victory for the Defense Department, which is seeking to revamp more than two dozen Air National Guard units nationwide in what the Air Force says is an effort to make the Air Guard more relevant for today's national security missions.

Two dozen states have complained that the Pentagon's plan would close local air-defense units, leaving their communities more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and hamper their ability to call on Guard units to fight forest fires or deal with hurricane damage.

Officials from Pennsylvania and Illinois, which have filed suit in federal court to challenge the Pentagon's authority to relocate Guard units, sought to play down the Justice Department opinion as just one of many that had no decisive impact.

Should the President succeed in this plan to shut down bases across the country and move troops and resources to Southern mega bases, many families will be broken up and many areas will be left without sufficient planes and materiel to aid in times of crisis -- including terror attacks. If this doesn't bring home the true cost of the President's military policies, I'm not sure what will.