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Congress Likely to Probe Guard Response

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General fitness, health and nutrition
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4 September 2005
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Bob (this one)
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  1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5253757,00.html
    Congress Likely to Probe Guard Response

    Saturday September 3, 2005 9:46 PM

    AP Photo LAEG113
    By SHARON THEIMER
    Associated Press Writer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - Another 10,000 National Guard troops are being sent to
    the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, raising their number to about 40,000,
    but questions linger about the speed with which troops were deployed.
    Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the
    rescue in New Orleans didn't get the go-ahead until days after the storm
    struck - a delay nearly certain to be investigated by Congress.
    New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco
    help from his state's National Guard last Sunday, the day before
    Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed
    to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late
    Thursday.
    California troops just began arriving in Louisiana on Friday, three days
    after flood waters devastated New Orleans and chaos broke out.
    In fact, when New Orleans' levees gave way to deadly flooding on
    Tuesday, Louisiana's National Guard had received help from troops in
    only three other states: Ohio, which had nine people in Louisiana then;
    Oklahoma, 89; and Texas, 625, figures provided by the National Guard
    show.
    Maj. Gen. Thomas Cutler, who leads the Michigan National Guard, said he
    anticipated a call for police units and started preparing them, but
    couldn't go until states in the hurricane zone asked them to come.
    ``We could have had people on the road Tuesday,'' Cutler said. ``We have
    to wait and respond to their need.''
    The Michigan National Guard was asked for military police by Mississippi
    late Tuesday and by Louisiana officials late Wednesday. The state sent
    182 MPs to Mississippi on Friday and had 242 headed to Louisiana on
    Saturday.
    Typically, the authority to use the National Guard in a state role lies
    with the governor, who tells his or her adjutant general to order
    individual Guard units to begin duty. Turnaround time varies depending
    on the number of troops involved, their location and their assigned
    missions.
    One factor that may have further complicated post-Katrina deployment
    arose when Louisiana discovered it needed Guardsmen to do more law
    enforcement duty because a large portion of the New Orleans police force
    was not functioning, according to Lt. Gen. Steven H. Blum, chief of the
    National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon.
    Because the agreement that was already in existence for states to
    contribute Guard troops to Louisiana did not include a provision on
    their use in law enforcement, Blum said, Gov. Blanco had to get separate
    written agreements authorizing Guardsmen to do police-type duty.
    Still, Blum said, this took only minutes to execute.
    With many states' Guard units depleted by deployments to Iraq, Katrina's
    aftermath was almost certain from the beginning to require help from
    faraway states.
    Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress are just beginning to ask
    why one of the National Guard's most trusted roles - disaster relief -
    was so uneven, delayed and chaotic this time around.
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said the situation has shown major breakdowns
    in the nation's emergency response capabilities. ``There must be some
    accountability in this process after the crisis is addressed,'' he said.
    Democrat Ben Nelson, Nebraska's other senator, said he now questions
    National Guard leaders' earlier assertions that they had enough
    resources to respond to natural disasters even with the Iraq war.
    ``I'm going to ask that question again,'' Nelson said. ``Do we have
    enough (troops), and if we do, why were they not deployed sooner?''
    President Bush was asked that question Friday as he toured the
    hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast area and said he disagrees with criticism
    the military is stretched too thin.
    ``We've got a job to defend this country in the war on terror, and we've
    got a job to bring aid and comfort to the people of the Gulf Coast, and
    we'll do both,'' he said.
    Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., plans to
    make oversight of the Defense Department, the National Guard and their
    assistance his top priority when he returns to Washington next week from
    an overseas trips, spokesman John Ullyot said Friday.
    Bush had the legal authority to order the National Guard to the disaster
    area himself, as he did after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks . But the
    troops four years ago were deployed for national security protection,
    and presidents of both parties traditionally defer to governors to
    deploy their own National Guardsmen and request help from other states
    when it comes to natural disasters.
    In addition to Guard help, the federal government could have activated,
    but did not, a major air support plan under a pre-existing contract with
    airlines. The program, called Civilian Reserve Air Fleet, lets the
    government quickly put private cargo and passenger planes into service.
    The CRAF provision has been activated twice, once for the Persian Gulf
    War and again for the Iraq war.

  2. Heh Bob, while they're probing, here's a good place to start. Remember
    all those poor people that are supposed to have stayed in NO only
    because they were too poor to have any means out? Well, here's a nice
    pic for you of 1000 school busses, filled with gas, ready to go. Or at
    least they were before the hurricane hit. Now they are sitting in a
    lot right where they were before the storm. Only now they are under
    water.

    http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015

    Funny the crybaby mayor of New Orleans, who, unlike the president,
    cares sooo much for the poor, didn't use these busses to give the poor
    folks a ride out of town. And in the process, the busses would have
    been saved too.

    But like everything else that goes wrong, I suppose that's all
    President Bush's fault too, right?

  3. Heh Bob, while they are probing the response of the National Guard,
    they should start with who has authority to mobilize the guard, because
    people like you who are quick to blame President Bush for everythings
    are ignorant of how it works:

    "The Guard has a unique dual mission, with both Federal and State
    responsibilities. During peacetime, the Governor through the State
    Adjutant General commands Guard forces. The Governor can call the Guard
    into action during local or statewide emergencies, such as storms,
    drought, and civil disturbances, to name a few. In addition, the
    President of the United States can activate the National Guard to
    participate in Federal missions. Examples of this are the many Guard
    units that have deployed to support operations in Bosnia. When
    federalized, Guard units are commanded by the Commander in Chief of the
    theatre in which they are operating. "

    So, if you want to investigate a slow response by the NAtional Guard,
    let's take a look at when the Governor of Louisiana mobilized them,
    because it's the GOVERNOR that mobilizes them for state emergencies,
    not the president.

  4. Quoted message said:

    Heh Bob, while they're probing, here's a good place to start. Remember
    all those poor people that are supposed to have stayed in NO only
    because they were too poor to have any means out? Well, here's a nice
    pic for you of 1000 school busses, filled with gas, ready to go.

    Is it that you can only spin, distort and lie? This is the second tiem
    you've posted this same picture and claimed it's 1000 buses when it's
    more like 100. You have no idea if they're fueled or not.

    Quoted message said:

    Or at
    least they were before the hurricane hit. Now they are sitting in a
    lot right where they were before the storm. Only now they are under
    water.

    http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015

    Funny the crybaby mayor of New Orleans,

    Crybaby. hudreds of thousands of poeple within the city without food,
    water or elctricity while emergency efforts are letting people die. ANd
    this makes him a crybaby.

    I widsh there were more crybabies like him.

    And I wish you lived in New Orleans.

    Quoted message said:

    who, unlike the president,
    cares sooo much for the poor, didn't use these busses to give the poor
    folks a ride out of town. And in the process, the busses would have
    been saved too.

    But like everything else that goes wrong, I suppose that's all
    President Bush's fault too, right?

    Idiot.

    No emergency relief for the better part of a week from the federal
    government and you're compatring that with the possibility of moving
    5000 or 6000 people of the millions displaced? And you can't see the
    difference?

    Idiot.

    Pastorio

  5. Quoted message said:

    Heh Bob, while they are probing the response of the National Guard,
    they should start with who has authority to mobilize the guard, because
    people like you who are quick to blame President Bush for everythings

    I blame the president for things he screws up. Nothing else.

    Quoted message said:

    are ignorant of how it works:

    "The Guard has a unique dual mission, with both Federal and State
    responsibilities. During peacetime, the Governor through the State
    Adjutant General commands Guard forces.

    Um, is it "peacetime?" I bet you didn't notice that little
    unpleasantness in Iraq. And Afghanistan. Where lots of guard folk are.

    Peacetime. What an idea.

    Quoted message said:

    The Governor can call the Guard
    into action during local or statewide emergencies, such as storms,
    drought, and civil disturbances, to name a few. In addition, the
    President of the United States can activate the National Guard to
    participate in Federal missions. Examples of this are the many Guard
    units that have deployed to support operations in Bosnia.

    And a bunch of other places.

    Quoted message said:

    When
    federalized, Guard units are commanded by the Commander in Chief of the
    theatre in which they are operating. "

    So, if you want to investigate a slow response by the NAtional Guard,
    let's take a look at when the Governor of Louisiana mobilized them,
    because it's the GOVERNOR that mobilizes them for state emergencies,
    not the president.

    <LOL> Perhaps you missed the fact that we're in an undeclared war - that
    means it's not "peacetime." It was in all the newspapers and I think I
    saw it on tv. The president did federalize the best of the guard so they
    could go overseas to protect Halliburton's future. I'm sure you were
    having your small brain dry-cleaned that day and missed it.

    If only life were so rose-colored and filled with butterflies and
    absolute clarity like you think.

    <http://tinyurl.com/9ws5g>
    <http://tinyurl.com/az2vt>
    <http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/12545876.htm>

    Do note all the future tense verbs in this official information...
    <http://www.ngb.army.mil/>

    Lotsa stuff gonna happen. Gonna.
    "The U.S. military *Tuesday started to move* ships and helicopters to
    the region at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
    aid in rescue and medical needs, military officials said. (Full story)"
    [emphasis added]
    <http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina/?section=cnn_topstories>

    Pastorio

  6. "<LOL> Perhaps you missed the fact that we're in an undeclared war -
    that
    means it's not "peacetime." It was in all the newspapers and I think I
    saw it on tv. The president did federalize the best of the guard so
    they
    could go overseas to protect Halliburton's future. I'm sure you were
    having your small brain dry-cleaned that day and missed it. "

    Yes, sure I figured Iraq was coming next. Try to pay attention, Bob.
    Louisiana is not part of Iraq and it is not at war. For a state
    emergency, under law, the GOVERNOR of the state mobilizes the national
    guard. There are Constitutional issues here, that apparently you don't
    understand. Little things like a President trying to assert control
    over rights reserved for the states. Let's see exactly when the
    Governor of Louisiana issued the order to mobilize the National Guard.
    Did she do it before the Cat 5 hurricane hit or after the looting had
    started? But, why bother, it's all Bush's fault, right?

  7. "Crybaby. hudreds of thousands of poeple within the city without food,
    water or elctricity while emergency efforts are letting people die. ANd

    this makes him a crybaby. I widsh there were more crybabies like him. "

    Yes, Mayor Nagin is a whining loser, much like you Bob. He went on TV
    to whine and cry, [censored] about lack of response, when as I've pointed
    out, he is one of the people directly responsible for not doing enough
    to correctly evacuate the city in the first place. Contrast that to
    what Mayor Guliani did in NYC on 9/11. He was in control, giving
    orders, organizing, telling people what to do, how to help. He was a
    leader, not a crybaby. And his police force didn't quit in the face of
    crisis either did they?

  8. Quoted message said:

    "Crybaby. hudreds of thousands of poeple within the city without food,
    water or elctricity while emergency efforts are letting people die. ANd
    this makes him a crybaby. I widsh there were more crybabies like him. "

    Yes, Mayor Nagin is a whining loser, much like you Bob. He went on TV
    to whine and cry, [censored] about lack of response, when as I've pointed
    out, he is one of the people directly responsible for not doing enough
    to correctly evacuate the city in the first place.

    You know, this is the last note of yours I think I ought to reply to.
    You're such an extremist and so beyond any human consideration that the
    lessons you'll teach people have already been given.

    Maybe the mayor should have done other things. But that doesn't make the
    fact that - literally - millions of people are in desperate straits with
    help coming in very slowly and inadequately. Bush is to blame for not
    expediting it.

    So forget New Orleans. Talk about Alabama where buildings were simply
    blown away and washed away and farms are utterly destroyed. And help is
    just now getting there. No water to wade through. No looters to capture
    while others starve and die from dehydration. Why so slow there?

    What about the - literally - millions who have nothing left but their
    clothing? No homes, no work, no money? The wonderful new bankruptcy laws
    from this administration designed to protect credit card companies to
    the detriment of the public will make sure that - literally - millions
    will be declaring bankruptcy and still be liable. No fault of theirs.
    Homeless, unemployed, debt-ridden. When the president declares it a
    disaster area, it means that the residents may be eligible for low-cost
    loans. And with few jobs now and in the coming months, life will be very
    difficult for - literally - millions of people.

    I understand that it's not government's job to provide for people in
    normal times. These aren't normal times.

    Quoted message said:

    Contrast that to
    what Mayor Guliani did in NYC on 9/11. He was in control, giving
    orders, organizing, telling people what to do, how to help. He was a
    leader, not a crybaby. And his police force didn't quit in the face of
    crisis either did they?

    What a shallow, shallow, deliberately evasive understanding you bring.
    Were there millions displaced? Were millions unemployed? The only
    evacuations were within a few blocks of the towers. The president was
    there the next day and federal actions were taken immediately. 9/11
    happened in 16 *ACRES* of one city, not 90,000 square *MILES* of
    different states.

    9/11 was a surprise that took a couple hours to unfold. The hurricane
    was visible for a long time - many days - before it hit. The feds who
    control the purse strings and FEMA and military and almost all the
    resources for such emergencies sat on their asses and watched it come.

    You can't really be this stupid.

    Pastorio

  9. Quoted message said:

    "<LOL> Perhaps you missed the fact that we're in an undeclared war -
    that means it's not "peacetime." It was in all the newspapers and I think I
    saw it on tv. The president did federalize the best of the guard so
    they could go overseas to protect Halliburton's future. I'm sure you were
    having your small brain dry-cleaned that day and missed it. "

    Yes, sure I figured Iraq was coming next. Try to pay attention, Bob.
    Louisiana is not part of Iraq and it is not at war.

    True but meaningless. The administration took the best of the Louisiana
    guard and its equipment far, far away. So they can't help. And their
    trucks and tents and training are useless for the people back home.

    Quoted message said:

    For a state
    emergency, under law, the GOVERNOR of the state mobilizes the national
    guard.

    The governor mobilized *what's left* of the national guard. There was
    less than 60% of the guard available and the best units were in Iraq.
    With the best equipment, including machines capable of operating in water.

    Even when the governor says to mobilize, the guard is still answerable
    to its chain of command. Do note that the name isn't "State Guard" -
    it's "National Guard."

    Quoted message said:

    There are Constitutional issues here, that apparently you don't
    understand. Little things like a President trying to assert control
    over rights reserved for the states.

    The president can declare a state of emergency and federalize the guard
    with no consultation with anyone. It's his authority that sent them to
    Iraq. The rights for national guard usage are the states' as long as the
    president lets them be.

    Quoted message said:

    Let's see exactly when the
    Governor of Louisiana issued the order to mobilize the National Guard.
    Did she do it before the Cat 5 hurricane hit or after the looting had
    started?

    Can it be that you don't know?

    Straw men, Bozo. She called them up on the Thursday before the storm
    hit. But since they lack equipment because so much of it is in Iraq,
    there wasn't much rapid deployment possible. Or do you think the
    soldiers drive their own cars to their destinations? Maybe take buses or
    taxis?

    Quoted message said:

    But, why bother, it's all Bush's fault, right?

    Nope. Not all or even most. But it is his fault that he went to play in
    California while the Gulf Coast was being smashed by the storm that
    everyone - including him - knew to be the worst in American history. He
    let the bureaucracy do what they do best. Not much. Instead of cutting
    through all the [censored] and making stuff happen. He waited and then was
    critical of what was going on. Like he wasn't where the buck is supposed
    to stop.

    Pastorio

  10. Bob (this one) said:


    So forget New Orleans. Talk about Alabama where buildings were simply
    blown away and washed away and farms are utterly destroyed. And help is
    just now getting there. No water to wade through. No looters to capture
    while others starve and die from dehydration. Why so slow there?


    Bob I live in Fairhope Alabama, across the bay from Mobile.
    I personally was blessed in that I have relatively little damage and
    was only without power for two days.

    The Alabama National Guard was in the affected coastal area within one
    day of the storm hitting. They are passing out water and food to those
    who need it.

    The evening of the storm, my self and my neighbors were out in the
    street, with chain saws, clearing the street. We checked on other
    neighbors to see if they were safe. Those in the more rural areas did
    the same, the farmers came out with their tractors, and used them to
    clear roads.
    I have heard of roving bands of area young people with chain saw
    removing trees from roofs, of those who could not help themselves.
    There was no looting, raping nor murder during this period.

    Its call neighbor help neighbor.

    By local planing, forethought by local politicians, we will survive
    this. And I think it was very nice of the President to stop by for a
    visit, but If he could get out of the way, we have work to do.

    Pan Ohco

  11. <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Governor of Louisiana issued the order to mobilize the National Guard.
    Did she do it before the Cat 5 hurricane hit or after the looting had
    started? But, why bother, it's all Bush's fault, right?

    She wouldn't have tried to get people to evacuate if Bush hadn't called and
    begged her to.

    --
    No Husband Has Ever Been Shot While Doing The Dishes

  12. "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Heh Bob, while they're probing, here's a good place to start. Remember
    all those poor people that are supposed to have stayed in NO only
    because they were too poor to have any means out? Well, here's a nice
    pic for you of 1000 school busses, filled with gas, ready to go.

    Is it that you can only spin, distort and lie? This is the second tiem
    you've posted this same picture and claimed it's 1000 buses when it's more
    like 100. You have no idea if they're fueled or not.

    There are well over 150 in that picture and it is clear that there is more
    of the busyard outside of the scope of the picture. So 100 is probably an
    exaggeration but so, on the low side, is 100. Fueling is a red herring
    because busyards have fueling facilities so if they weren't fueled they
    could be quickly fueled.

    Rich

  13. "There are well over 150 in that picture and it is clear that there is
    more
    of the busyard outside of the scope of the picture. So 100 is probably
    an
    exaggeration but so, on the low side, is 100. Fueling is a red herring

    because busyards have fueling facilities so if they weren't fueled they

    could be quickly fueled. "

    Here's a link to more discussion on the buses that were available for
    pre-hurricane evacuation and apparently unused:

    http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/007188.html

    In addition to the school buses, there were apparently 364 NORTA city
    buses available, that went unused too. There is also the accusation
    made that Governor Blanco did not call for a mandatoy evacuation until
    President Bush begged her. I don't know if that's true or not, but
    certainly another example of things we should know before anyone jumps
    to conclusions as to what the sequence of events was, or who to blame
    for what happened.

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