Strain of Iraq War Means the Relief Burden Will Have to Be Shared

[brettdale]

Strain of Iraq War Means the Relief Burden Will Have to Be Shared

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083002162_pf.html



With thousands of their citizen-soldiers away fighting in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina scrambled to muster forces for rescue and security missions yesterday -- calling up Army bands and water-purification teams, among other units, and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty military.

As the devastation threatened to overwhelm state resources, federal authorities called on the Pentagon to mobilize active-duty aircraft, ships and troops and set up an unprecedented task force to coordinate a wider military response, said officials from the Northern Command, which oversees homeland defense.