Some States Chafe at Pentagon Control in Disasters

When squabbling between Louisiana's Democratic governor and the Republican Bush administration delayed some troops getting to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, many blamed raw politics.

But five years later, as another calamity — the BP oil spill — grips the Gulf region, questions linger about who's in charge when both state National Guard members and federal troops are called to respond to disaster.

Now Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, chairman of the National Governors Association, is leading a panel created by Congress to try to resolve the questions.

President Barack Obama asked Douglas and Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire to co-chair the Council of Governors, which is set to hold its second meeting with Pentagon officials next month.