I keep having Kent State visions. National Guard troops aren't trained to be border police - that's not their role.

Even though the story is that NG troops would be in a "supporting" role, they shouldn't be there. They're being over-used in Iraq, so giving them yet another role (one that would be "temporary") is doing at least 3 things: 1) it's giving the appearance of it being political posturing by the Administration, 2) it increases the chance of increasing tensions along the border with Mexico, 3) it provides more evidence to those who think that Bush only sees military solutions to every problem.

I suspect it'll go forward in some fashion, and 4-5 months from now (after, perhaps, another couple of hurricanes) it'll be quietly ended and people will argue about whether the NG was stretched too thin to be able to respond to emergencies.

Cheers,
Scott.