Kansas another Katrina? Relief Shortages as National Guard is Largely in Iraq

May 8 (EIRNS)--The tornado that destroyed the city of Greensburg, Kansas on Friday was a natural disaster that turned into a tragedy due to the lack of the National Guard troops and equipment to go in, find victims, support the survivors, clean up the mountains of debris and prevent what has become a public health and safety crisis. Four panelists, speaking at a press conference held by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, Tuesday, looked back often to Katrina when describing the situation in Kansas.

Larry Kolb of Center for American Progress put the situation into a larger context of one where, before the Iraq War the National Guard units were short only about 15 to 20% in soldiers and 35% in equipment. Now nearly 9 out of every 10 Army National Guard units here at home have less than half of the equipment needed to respond to a domestic crisis. Maj. Gen Mel Montano, former adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard, reports that the states of Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Florida, Oregon, New Mexico, and Colorado are listed as short troops and equipment. The Guard doctors are overseas; the nurses, the mobile hospital units, water transport equipment, mobile mess facilities, etc, all away from home now. Jane Bullock, former chief of staff at FEMA, said that now, three days after the tornado, we are still doing search and rescue. Kansas state Senator Donald Betts insisted that with natural disasters of this type that the federal government should be all over, the next day, and that there should be a plan in place to take care of the U.S.. "If the administration has no plan in place, then they may need to be replaced," he said.

According to The Progress Report, put out by the Center for American Progress, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) has "written the Pentagon twice and spoke about the issue at great length with Bush in January 2006 when they rode together from Topeka to a lecture in Manhattan." "|`He assured me that he had additional equipment in his budget a year ago.... Meanwhile it doesn't get any better." She will bring it up with Bush again when he visits Kansas to survey the damage his policies have created.