ArchPundit

Apparently, the fine bloggers over at Illinois Review are now posting viral e-mails now.

Before you dismiss the fact that Sarah Palin is Commander of the Alaska National Guard consider this.

• Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system.

• The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It is on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.

• As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter-terrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden’s and certainly by far exceeds Obama’s.

• She’s also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security’s counterterrorism plans.

• Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country’s defense.

• Given Alaska ‘s proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don’t even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

Not so much according to the Alaskan Adjutant General

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

Stephen C. Donehoo, managing director of Kissinger McLarty Associates in Washington, and former military intelligence officer specializing in Latin America:

1. This is the greatest line though:

Given Alaska ‘s proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don’t even know about

While security clearance levels are generally not discussed, there is little reason to believe given the above that she has a different security clearance than most Governors.  She is not in operational command of the National Guard at that level.  Where Governors usually get their clearance is in regards to Homeland Security which can be done by exception or in other cases they do go through the process.  This is a sore point with the National Governor’s Association because clearance for Homeland Security doesn’t give you clearance from the FBI.  One has to go through another one.

Furthermore, the February meeting wasn’t a secret:

McCain first met Palin in February at a National Governors Assn. meeting in Washington, according to Jill Hazelbaker, a campaign spokeswoman.

Another advisor, Charlie Black, said McCain and Palin spent about 90 minutes in a meeting with about six other governors and then spoke privately for about 15 minutes that night at a reception.

Black, who accompanied McCain to the meeting, said the Arizona senator quizzed her about energy issues in Alaska, including a natural gas pipeline that is being built there. McCain, he said, admired her record “of taking on the old boy network” in both parties.

After the meeting, Hazelbaker said, “John McCain followed her career and admired her tenacity and her many accomplishments.”

As a result, McCain added Palin’s name to his list when he first began considering potential running mates, the aides said.

Finally, working from his home in Phoenix, McCain arranged to speak with Palin by telephone Sunday while she was at the Alaska State Fair.

The upshot: Palin and a longtime aide, Kris Perry, flew to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday and met in secret with two of McCain’s closest aides, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter. To avoid reporters, they huddled at the home of Bob Delgado, who runs the Phoenix-based beer distributorship owned by McCain’s wife, Cindy.

On Thursday morning, McCain and his wife invited Palin and her aide to their 15-acre compound near Sedona. McCain was so impressed, Hazelbaker said, that he formally invited the Alaskan to join his ticket at 11 a.m., when they were on the deck of the McCain family home.

Posting idiotic viral e-mails without checking them out pretty much sums up Illinois Review.