Are We Safer Yet? Is Iraq ruining domestic readiness?

[richlevy]

When Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, recently criticized the lack of equipment left in her state's National Guard armory to deal with the tornado, she was exposed to a firestorm of counterspin from the White House.

I actually watched a piece of Fox News where the anchor fed a question to the field reporter, and the field reporter said "Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat". The emphasis was hers, and I cannot exaggerate the stress she placed on that statement. In fact, I can say that I've only seen reporters act like that in comedy routines. I'll add a YouTube clip if I can find one.

In fact, this is not a new issue. The warning went out years ago, from governors of both parties, that equipment stocks were dangerously low. With all of the money being spent on Iraq, it appears insufficient funds were available to address the issue.

From Chicago Tribune.

Governors say war has gutted Guard

States fear lack of disaster response

By Kirsten Scharnberg
Tribune national correspondent

May 13, 2007

As wildfires, floods and tornadoes batter the nation, the readiness of the National Guard to deal with those disasters, as well as potential terrorist assaults, is so depleted by deployments to foreign wars and equipment shortfalls that Congress is considering moves to curtail the president's powers over the Guard and require the Defense Department to analyze how prepared the country is for domestic emergencies.

The debate over the state of the National Guard has been intensifying for several years, but a powerful tornado in Kansas early this month has spun the topic back into the spotlight.

When the small farming community of Greensburg was effectively wiped off the map, leaving 11 people in the area dead and miles of rubble to be searched and cleared, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was direct in her explanation for why the response had not been faster: The policies of the federal government, she said, had left the Kansas National Guard understaffed and underequipped.

Her comments infuriated the Bush administration, which countered that the vast majority of her state's Guard members were available to be called up and that she would be provided any equipment she lacked as soon as she requested it.

The bitter exchange represented a familiar debate to governors across the U.S., many of whom have long feared and predicted that a catastrophic event could find their National Guard units woefully hard-pressed to react to mass casualties or chaos after four years of war in Iraq.

[Drax]

Has our domestic readiness been impaired by Iraq and Afghanistan?

I dunno, but this "war on terrorism" may have never started if Dubya hadn't bombed an entire country over one asshole.

[Undertoad]

http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/225570.php

Pentagon officials are disputing claims that the Iraq war has spread National Guardsmen too thin to respond to a Kansas tornado after the governor and some Democratic lawmakers complained that the Guard are not equipped to help displaced residents.

Kansas has 88 percent of its state Guard forces available, and 83,000 Guardsmen from neighboring states are also on the ready should the state request their assistance, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday, citing National Guard Bureau statistics.


According to Whitman, the Kansas Guard have available 352 Humvees, 94 cargo trucks, 72 dump trucks, 62 five-ton trucks, 13 medium-haul trucks and trailers and 152 2 1/2-ton trucks, a surplus, he noted.

The town affected had 1500 residents and Ms. Sebelius had deployed 110 of her 88% available Guard forces.

Anyone refute any of this?

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Drax

I dunno, but this "war on terrorism" may have never started if Dubya hadn't bombed an entire country over one asshole.

Well, there are currently 3 'wars on terrorism'.

1) Homeland Security
2) Afghanistan
3) Iraq

Afghanistan was an extension of the "war on terror". The unrecognized 'government' was known to be harboring the Taliban. Internationally, there was broad support for an intervention, and the only reason Afghanistan is not a complete success today is that it is troop levels are a fraction of those in Iraq.

Even when considering foreign wars a part of the 'war on terror', what we have done is open up a second front in the Middle East. With no draft in this country, and with reduced revenues from taxes, we are robbing Peter to pay Paul, gutting our domestic disaster preparedness to supply troops and equipment to two war front, one of which is seen by a majority of the US and the world as a 'war of choice'.

In effect, Bush made the same mistake Hitler made in opening an Eastern Front with the Soviet Union when he didn't have to.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I would point out that more of Kansas than Greensburg was affected by this and the accompanying storms. The neighboring states had their own problems with storms and floods, too.

That doesn't mean the Governor couldn't rouse sufficient help, just saying, ya know.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Drax

I dunno, but this "war on terrorism" may have never started if Dubya hadn't bombed an entire country over one asshole.

It wasn't about one asshole. It was about 3000 people. (not talking about Iraq here)

[deadbeater]

None of the deaths which Sadaam was involved in planning.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by deadbeater

None of the deaths which Sadaam was involved in planning.

(not talking about Iraq here)