http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1562429,00.htmlBush sends marines as flood fury grows
· 20,000 still trapped in burning city
· We let citizens down, admits President
Julian Borger and Jamie Doward in Baton Rouge
Sunday September 4, 2005
The Observer
President George Bush ordered an extra 17,000 troops - including 7,000 elite airborne troops and marines - into New Orleans and the devastated Gulf Coast yesterday to try to bolster the stumbling flood relief effort and salvage the reputation of his presidency.
The order was announced after it became clear that National Guard troops sent into the city on Friday were no match for the scale of the disaster unleashed by Hurricane Katrina and the consequent collapse of the levees around the city. Within two days the number of military personnel in the area is hoped to reach some 54,000 people.
As a full-scale rescue operation finally got under way and thousands of victims of the storm were ferried from the city by bus, plane and truck, the US military announced it would be deploying a further 10,000 National Guards.
The latest moves come as rescuers continued to find bodies across the city, and as victims of the disaster continued to die amid the horrible conditions. Although there has been no official estimate of the number of dead, some fear it could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone.
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