TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- a headline you won't see: National Guard Helps Clean Up After Hurricane
Pages (2): « 1 [2]

Some officers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inchn flat-screen television. Officers claimed there was nothing they could do to contain the anarchy, saying their radio communications have broken down and they had no direction from commanders.
Cops Looting New Orleans

quote:

Originally posted by Fir3start3r Hey lookie... It's the US NATIONAL GUARD... http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto...er_050901063635

HAHAHA

300 National Guardsmen are already in the city.

quote:

Originally posted by kush paintings 300 National Guardsmen are already in the city.

It is unknown if they are Louisiana National Guard. The rest of the Louisianas' are in Iraq, about 3000.

For you non-Americans, each state has it's own state National Guard despite the use of the word name national. The Guard, as it's otherwise known, are there for times of state emergencies. Weather related, civil disobedience, etc. The Kent State shootings were done by the Ohio National Guard.

But for some reason unknownst or explainable to me, the National Guard members are in Iraq.

The regular Armed Forces are supposed to be used overseas in war time.

Hey lookie....here's 7000 MORE National Guard...

quote:

National Guard arrives to take control of lawless Louisiana Last Updated Fri, 02 Sep 2005 20:27:28 EDT CBC News Four days after Hurricane Katrina struck, a convoy of U.S. National Guard troops arrived Friday with food, water and weapons. Their mission: to retake the streets and bring relief to the suffering. National Guard troops try to bring order to the Superdome evacuation in New Orleans (CP Photo) "The cavalry is and will continue to arrive," said Lt.-Gen. Steven Blum of the National Guard. A total of 7,000 troops are expected to arrive Friday. At the New Orleans Convention Center, some of the thousands of hurricane victims applauded and screamed, "Thank you, Jesus!" as hundreds of soldiers arrived in the increasingly desperate and lawless city. There was also anger and profane catcalls. "Hell no, I'm not glad to see them. They should have been here days ago. I ain't glad to see 'em. I'll be glad when 100 buses show up," Michael Levy, 46, told the Associated Press. His words were echoed by those around him yelling, "Hell, yeah! Hell yeah!" "We've been sleeping on the . . . ground like rats," Levy said. "I say burn this whole . . . city down." The soldiers' arrival came amid criticism from the mayor and others, who said the U.S. government had bungled the relief effort and let people die in the streets for lack of food, water or medicine. Thursday night, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin lashed out at federal officials, telling New Orleans radio station WWL "they don't have a clue what's going on down here." Nagin said he was "pissed" at the lack of help. "We authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq, lickety split. After 9/11 we gave the president unprecedented powers, lickety split to help New York and other places," he said. "You mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through ... that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need," said Nagin. The military said its first priority was delivering food and water, after which it would start moving people out of the state -- something that could take days. "As fast as we can, we'll move them out," said army Lt.-Gen. Russel Honore. "Worse things have happened to America," he added. "We're going to overcome this, too. It's not our fault. The storm came and flooded the city." President Bush Friday pledged a prolonged effort to help New Orleans cope with Hurricane Katrina's horrific aftermath and vowed the city would recover its former grandeur, as he was urged to take swift action to aid its desperate residents. Facing scathing criticism of the government's slow response to one of country's worst natural disasters, Bush said during a tour of ravaged areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that the recovery would require attention "for a long period of time." He was blunt in his appraisal of the relief effort in the four days since the storm struck on Monday, saying, "The results are not acceptable." At the convention centre, New Orleans police Supt. Eddie Compass rode down the street on the running board of a box truck and announced through a bullhorn: "We got 30,000 people out of the Superdome and we're going to take care of you." "We've got food and water on the way. We've got medical attention on the way. We're going to get you out of here safely. We're going to get all of you," he said. On Thursday, at the convention centre, corpses lay abandoned outside the building, and many hurricane victims complained bitterly that they had been forsaken by the U.S. government. Leroy Fouchea, 42, waited in the sweltering heat for an hour to get his ration -- his first proper food since Monday -- and immediately handed it over to a sickly friend. A military helicopter drops food and water for Hurricane Katrina survivors near the New Orleans Convention Center (CP Photo) He then offered to show reporters the dead bodies of a man in a wheelchair, a young man who he said he dragged inside just hours earlier, and the limp forms of two infants, one just four months old, the other six months old. "They died right here, in America, waiting for food," Fouchea said as he walked toward Hall D, where the bodies were put to get them out of the searing heat. He said people were let die and left without food simply because they were poor and that the evacuation effort earlier concentrated on the French Quarter of the city. "Because that's where the money is," he spat. A National Guardsman refused entry. "It doesn't need to be seen, it's a make-shift morgue in there," he told a Reuters photographer. "We're not letting anyone in there anymore. If you want to take pictures of dead bodies, go to Iraq." And at the Superdome, fights and fires broke out and storm victims battled for seats on the buses taking them to the Houston Astrodome. Blum of the National Guard said 7,000 National Guardsmen arriving in Louisiana on Friday would be dedicated to restoring order in New Orleans. He said half of them had just returned from assignments overseas and are "highly proficient in the use of lethal force." He pledged to "put down" the violence "in a quick and efficient manner." Earlier Friday, an explosion at a warehouse rocked a wide area of New Orleans before daybreak. A second large fire erupted in an old retail building in a dry section of Canal Street downtown. While floodwaters in New Orleans appeared to stabilize, efforts continued to plug three breaches in the levees that protect New Orleans. Helicopters dropped sandbags into the breach and pilings were being pounded into the mouth of the canal Thursday to close its connection to the lake. Lt.-Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, said engineers are developing a plan to create new breaches in the levees so that a combination of pumping and the effects of gravity will drain the water out of the city. Removing the floodwaters will take weeks, he said.

>>Source<<

I know I'm quoting a socialst left-leaning source but shhhhhhh.....

quote:

Originally posted by Fir3start3r Hey lookie....here's 7000 MORE National Guard...

Yeah six days later when thousands are dying.

quote:

Originally posted by ogvh5150 Yeah six days later when thousands are dying.

You know, it could have been 3 days and there'd still be critics...
(and where do you get 6 days from??)

The surrounding civil population (which I would have expected) hasn't been exactly radiant either.

I don't think anybody really had a grasp of how bad it really was until after a couple of days.
I'm still trying to comprehend the severity of the situation even though I've read lots of blogs, seen new reports, pictures, etc.

Of course this don't excuse the military from not stepping in earlier but at the same time, it does take some time to mobilize a huge force with some sort of game plan going into complete chaos.

The response has been slow in all areas, including from our own country which to me, is extremely embarrassing.
We're supposed to have this history for worldwide peaceful operations and aid and assistance so what the hell are we doing about it?
Did we send any helicopters or planes? Emergency task forces? Medical personal?
Christ, our friend and ally gets kicked in the teeth and we're sitting on our asses wondering what we can do!
OMFG Mr.Martin, we might get our hands dirty! WTF!

Why rapid response last year?

Late Friday, about 1,400 National Guard troops were sent to hard-hit Port Charlotte, where there are numerous reports of injuries and search-and-rescue efforts are under way, according to the Federal Department of Emergency Management.
Mighty Charley loses steam

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (8/16/2004) � More than 4,000 members of the Florida National Guard were on duty today to support recovery operations from Hurricane Charley's devastation Aug. 13 across southwest and central Florida.
Guardsmen Support Hurricane Charley Recovery Operations

PUNTA GORDA - Sgt. 1st Class John Garrison's Florida National Guard unit was shot at every day in Iraq. The troops endured dry desert heat for 15 months. The unit's 400 members were responsible for patrolling an area crammed with 700,000 Iraqis.
Now, three months after its return from Iraq, Garrison's unit has been summoned to help the victims of Hurricane Charley. They can see that the damage is bad, that Charlotte County residents are suffering.
For Guard, Charley is better than Iraq

President Bush declared Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi disaster areas, making federal funding and aid available. The declaration for Florida was the third in a month, following those issued for hurricanes Charley and Frances.
More than 2,000 National Guard troops were moving into northwest Florida to assist with assessment and cleanup operations, Gov. Bush said.
Ivan made landfall on the east side of Mobile Bay in Alabama at 1:50 a.m. (2:50 a.m. ET) Thursday as a slightly weakened Category 3 hurricane with winds of 130 mph (208 kph).
Ivan's stormy trek floods Southeast

But they're in Iraq:

The National Guard has always been America's first line of defense and support after natural disasters, but with 100,000 Guardsmen deployed overseas supporting missions from Afghanistan and Iraq to the Balkans, its disaster-relief force is smaller.
Storm Surge (A National Guard Association of the United States article)

2005:

Florida Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said Florida had prepared well for the emergency, with 2,600 National Guard troops ready to be dispatched to affected areas.
Dennis spreads across Southeast

Dennis was the only other US mainland hurricane to hit before Katrina.

With only eight days left before their tours' end, the biggest worry on these soldiers� minds is 10,000 miles away. �We were going to have a homecoming,� said Carrigee. �Now we don�t know if we�ll have homes to go home to.�
Eight Long Days
Nearing the end of their tour in Iraq, National Guard troops from Louisiana face an uncertain homecoming.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.