IMPEACH BUSH

TAMPA, Fla. — With repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leaving state National Guards without nearly half of their required equipment, some governors are loudly questioning whether they will be able to handle the next hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack at home.

"We are not going to be able to continue to rely on the National Guard as a full-time operational force," North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said.

Easley said his state has about half the equipment it needs and could probably respond adequately to a hurricane, but "a pandemic or something like that may be a different question."

The widespread problem of permanently losing National Guard equipment to the war was pushed to the forefront this week when Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius complained that shortages of equipment and well-trained personnel slowed Guard response to the killer tornadoes that ravaged her state.