The War in Iraq has been draining the nation'sresources over the past two and a half years, none more so than those of the National Guard. As The New York Times' Eric Schmitt reports, America's governors are not so pleased.

A proposed overhaul of more than two dozen Air National Guard units has ignited a political firestorm in many states, drawing attention to the most hotly contested part of the Pentagon's larger plan to shut, shrink or realign hundreds of military sites nationwide.

The Air Force wants to retire aging aircraft from many Guard units, close or consolidate some of their bases and give some units new missions, like flying remotely piloted Predator aircraft, that are better suited to today's national security environment, Air Force officials say.

But doing that would leave more than two dozen states without emergency aircraft to fight fires, recover from hurricanes and cope with other natural disasters, lawmakers say.

Officials from New England to the Pacific Northwest argue that the plan would leave them vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Illinois and Pennsylvania have gone so far as to file suit in federal court contending that the Defense Department cannot move Air Guard units without the consent of the state governors, who share authority with the president over use of the units.

These cuts are being felt close to home -- and our fellow Oregonians are up in arms.

In Oregon, the plan calls for stripping the 142nd Fighter Wing of its 19 F-15 fighters and sending them to bases in New Jersey and Louisiana. Two jets from an as yet undetermined base would be sent to Portland to be on alert status. Otherwise, the nearest fighter base would be in Fresno, Calif., 750 miles away, Air Guard officials say.

"It would leave the Pacific Northwest with a Little League air defense capability," Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said at a commission field hearing in June.

These are the types of stories that help bring the real costs and consequences of the Bush administration's military policies close to home. With much of the National Guard and Reserves in Iraq, states have far too few resources to deal with "fires," "hurricanes," and "other national disasters."

Should President Bush move forward with his plan to raid bases in blue states like Oregon for the benefit of red states in his base like Florida, it will be mighty difficult for any Republican to win in the Beaver state -- or others like it -- come 2006.