Iraq hurt Katrina response, general says

[tocqueville]

Pentagon says it can handle both the disaster and Iraq war

Friday, September 9, 2005 Posted: 2225 GMT (0625 HKT)

BAY ST. LOUIS, Mississippi (AP) -- 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.

"Had that brigade been at home and not in Iraq, their expertise and capabilities could have been brought to bear," said Blum.

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.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/09/katrina.natguard.ap/index.html

[maddezmom]

1. wonder if he'll get demoted

for telling the truth

[MissMarple]

2. Oh, so sad to hear. We knew it, but it is hard to hear it out loud.

This administration has put us in danger, has made us more vulnerable, and continues to deplete our resources. Where does their allegiance lie? It doesn't seem to be with us, the United States of America.

I am beginning to think the cavalry....is us.

[Tennessee Gal]

3. God bless him!

There are still truthful people in positions of power. I love these type of stories.