National Guard Commander Says Iraq Hurt Us in NOLA

[ohio_liberal]

I've been wondering why the National Guard did not arrive in NOLA until Friday. I'm wondering no more. Read on:

The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana in Iraq when Hurricane Katrina struck hindered those states' initial storm response, military and civilian officials said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that "arguably" a day or so of response time was lost due to the absence of the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Infantry Brigade and Louisiana's 256th Infantry Brigade, each with thousands of troops in Iraq.

<snip>

Instead of being able to use people close by, who could get there quickly and who knew the territory, Blum had to call on troops from distant parts of the country:

Blum said that to replace those units' command and control equipment, he dispatched personnel from Guard division headquarters from Kansas and Minnesota shortly after the storm struck.

Commentary added by diarist DanK:

It's not just that the guard was below strength in Louisiana and Mississippi; they probably could have gotten by with a fraction of their complement. The point is that their essential emergency communications equipment was in Iraq. So when the electricity went out, local officials couldn't turn use the guard's communications.

Added commentary of dKos diarist Grassroots Mom:

NPR did a reconstruction/timeline of the disaster this evening. All of the local and state emergency people were talking to each other and everyone and seemed very organized right up until the hurricane hit. Then they lost all power and communication. And because all of the National Guard communication equipment and emergency generators were in Iraq, there was no way to re-establish communications, and then everything fell apart for the local people. And the feds never showed up.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/174353/3189

It took 4 days instead of 2 to 3 days for the calvary to arrive. How many people died in those 1-2 days?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. There goes his career....

[ohio_liberal]

2. Rumsfailed already fired back

Asked on Tuesday about critics who said the commitment of large numbers of troops to the Iraq conflict hindered the military's response to Hurricane Katrina, Rumsfeld said, "Anyone who's saying that doesn't understand the situation."

[paineinthearse]

3. Watch for the spin

How will Rove spin the fact that the Guard lost a couple days?

[ohio_liberal]

5. They'll blame it on Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin

Goes without saying.

[Erika]

4. Yeah, we became less of a priority than the Iraq war

W, the globalist corporate king has his priorities, and poor black Americans aren't one of them.

[merci_me]

6. The really sad thing

is this is the reason those people joined the National Guard in the first place. They were suppose to be here, guarding us.

Instead, they were pulled from their families, homes and jobs and as their families back home struggled to not lose their homes and cars from the repo man, as our government was cutting the bankruptcy safety net, the NG were in Iraq, dying at numbers well above the regular military.

[ohio_liberal]

7. Everyone I know who joined the NG did it for a little extra money

:shrug:

[lildreamer316]

8. VERY important point. Let's keep this in circulation.

We need to be able to use this to refute a few talking poins; and I am glad to have an explination of WHY the communication was so bad.Thanks very much!!

[ohio_liberal]

9. kick

:kick:

[ohio_liberal]

10. More from dKos and NPR links

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/10/01516/9892

National Guard forces were on alert and ready to respond as of Monday, but orders were never issued. The report doesn't indicate who should have issued those orders, but the implication was clearly that it should have come from Washington.

But the real kicker was this: The report stated that Bush met with Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin on Friday aboard Air Force One and told them he would release the National Guard only if Blanco, Nagin, and the Guard took their orders from Washington.

While the report doesn't state so directly, it clearly implies that Bush intentionally kept the Guard out of New Orleans for four days. If so, he directly contributed to the deaths of a still uncounted number of New Orleans residents.

Links to NPR's All Things Considered:

Unexecuted Plans:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4839666

Misdirected Aid:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4839669

[Voice1]

11. LA National Guard wanted equipment back from Iraq

Thought this would be useful to you (from 3rd September):

LA National Guard Wants Equipment to Come Back From Iraq
http://abc26.trb.com/news/natguard08012005,0,4504131.story?coll=wgno-news-1

When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.

"The National Guard needs that equipment back home to support the homeland security mission," said Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider with the LA National Guard.

[ohio_liberal]

12. Great link, thanks

:hi:

[Voice1]

13. No problem

We all have a duty to get rid of the criminals and liars in power in the US, wherever we are in the world, obviously they not only are negligent and incompetent in their overseas adventures, but also are negligent and incompetent in helping their own people.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi Voice1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: