Iraq War Inhibits Disaster Relief in Kansas

[Cyndalie]

So a town gets leveled by a tornado and the National Guard supplies such as tents, helicopters, machinery and equipment such as bulldozers, and other emergency relief materials (not to mention manpower) are all in Iraq, leaving Kansas with a shortage to deal with the disaster in two places in the state.

"Groups cited the shortage of equipment to deal with the Kansas disaster as the latest example of what they see as the war's detrimental impact on domestic security."

So is this a grim reality or a political ploy to show a growing need from within our own homeland to end the war in Iraq?

For months, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and other governors have warned that their state National Guards were ill-prepared for the next local disaster, be it a tornado or a flash flood or a terrorist's threat, because of large deployments of their soldiers and equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then, Friday night, a deadly tornado all but cleared the small town of Greensburg off the Kansas map. With 80 square blocks of the farming town destroyed, Sebelius said her fears had come true: The emergency response was too slow, she said, and there was only one reason.

"As you travel around Greensburg, you'll see that city and county trucks have been destroyed," Sebelius, a Democrat, said Monday. "The National Guard is one of our first responders. They don't have the equipment they need to come in, and it just makes it that much slower."

For nearly two days after the storm, there was an unmistakable emptiness in Greensburg, a lack of heavy machinery and an army of responders. By Sunday afternoon, only about half of the Guard troops who would ultimately respond were in place.

It was not until Sunday night that significant numbers of military vehicles started to arrive.

[Platinum Chris]

I'm sure Canada will send whats needed.

Hell, we arrived first before the US to help New Orleans

[TheLegacy]

sadly few americans know just how much canada does help out in relief and help during disasters - but this is what happens when you stretch yourself too thin in manpower.

[student4ever]

So is this a grim reality or a political ploy to show a growing need from within our own homeland to end the war in Iraq?

I think that gets a simple - yes. There is a grim reality to it that can be used as a ploy to show the need to get out of Iraq.

I'll take it one step further also... it's a prime example of just how short sighted our current policy makers have been. We've invested so many resources into our military actions that there is literally not enough left to take care of our own problems.

Sure the reservists and national guardsmen have signed up to potentially go war if needed, BUT, part of what they are needed for is to help out in the event of disasters exactly such as this. Somebody is not doing their job when they don't see the balance of how much manpower is out of the country versus what is needed at home. < /rantoff >

[12clicks]

boo fucking hoo. my house was blown down friday night and they didn't start bulldozing the rubble until sunday.

give me a fucking break.

[Cyndalie]

Originally Posted by 12clicks

boo fucking hoo. my house was blown down friday night and they didn't start bulldozing the rubble until sunday.

give me a fucking break.

BooHoo my family has no where to sleep, not a tent or a blanket and nothing to eat. My car looks like a pile of ground beef and there's nothing for miles, can't get no relief.



Hey I did see on the news where Bush is walking through shit John Deer trucks and clothing all over the place - looks like they stepped up and provided the needed equipment.

[12clicks]

Originally Posted by Cyndalie

BooHoo my family has no where to sleep, not a tent or a blanket and nothing to eat. My car looks like a pile of ground beef and there's nothing for miles, can't get no relief.



Hey I did see on the news where Bush is walking through shit John Deer trucks and clothing all over the place - looks like they stepped up and provided the needed equipment.

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories...iew/sid/22772/

"""Within four hours of the deadly tornado that struck this town under the cloak of darkness, Kansas National Guard servicemembers were called to duty to bring relief to their devastated neighbors."""

[gunner]

Originally Posted by TheLegacy

sadly few americans know just how much canada does help out in relief and help during disasters - but this is what happens when you stretch yourself too thin in manpower.

Hard to be stretched too thin in manpower when you guys don't have enough troops to row a boat to Greenland. Your military is about 1/1,000 the size of ours... GAME OVER.



"The primary reason for this is the huge difference in recruitment goal between the two countries. According to Major Orr, Canada's annual recruitment objective for all branches of its armed forces is 4,400, while America's quota is 70,000 for its army alone."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...BNStory/AtPlay

[StaceyJo]

now this is really frightening... hope they could dissolve these issues or things will get worst...