"This place is going to look like Little Somalia"

http://tinyurl.com/a6txd


Troops begin *combat operations* in New Orleans

By Joseph R. Chenelly
Army Times staff writer

NEW ORLEANS ¡X Combat operations are underway on the streets ¡§to take this
city back¡¨ in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

*¡§This place is going to look like Little Somalia*,¡¨ Brig. Gen. Gary Jones,
commander of the Louisiana National Guard¡¦s Joint Task Force told Army
Times Friday as hundreds of armed troops under his charge prepared to
launch a massive citywide security mission from a staging area outside the
Louisiana Superdome. ¡§We¡¦re going to go out and take this city back. This
will be a *combat operation* to get this city under control.¡¨

Jones said the military first needs to establish security throughout the
city. Military and police officials have said there are several large areas
of the city are in a full state of anarchy.

Dozens of military trucks and up-armored Humvees left the staging area just
after 11 a.m. Friday, while hundreds more troops arrived at the same
staging area in the city via Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters.

¡§We¡¦re here to do whatever they need us to do,¡¨ Sgt. 1st Class Ron Dixon,
of the Oklahoma National Guard¡¦s 1345th Transportation Company. ¡§We packed
to stay as long as it takes.¡¨

While some fight the insurgency in the city, other carry on with rescue and
evacuation operations. Helicopters are still pulling hundreds of stranded
people from rooftops of flooded homes.

Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and police helicopters
filled the city sky Friday morning. Most had armed soldiers manning the
doors. According to Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy Grishamn, a spokesman
for the amphibious assault ship Bataan, the vessel kept its helicopters at
sea Thursday night after several military helicopters reported being shot
at from the ground.

Numerous soldiers also told Army Times that they have been shot at by armed
civilians in New Orleans. Spokesmen for the Joint Task Force Headquarters
at the Superdome were unaware of any servicemen being wounded in the
streets, although one soldier is recovering from a gunshot wound sustained
during a struggle with a civilian in the dome Wednesday night.

¡§I never thought that at a National Guardsman I would be shot at by other
Americans,¡¨ said Spc. Philip Baccus of the 527th Engineer Battalion. ¡§And I
never thought I¡¦d have to carry a rifle when on a hurricane relief mission.
This is a disgrace.¡¨

Spc. Cliff Ferguson of the 527th Engineer Battalion pointed out that he
knows there are plenty of decent people in New Orleans, but he said it is
hard to stay motivated considering the circumstances.

¡§This is making a lot of us think about not reenlisting.¡¨ Ferguson said.
¡§You have to think about whether it is worth risking your neck for someone
who will turn around and shoot at you. We didn¡¦t come here to fight a war.
We came here to help.¡¨

'In our Federal system, the President is and in this case was painfully
at the mercy of state officials. Just as President Bush cannot be blamed
for the fact that New Orleans was hit by a category four hurricane -
global warming or no global warming -- he is not responsible for the
fact that the Louisiana National Guard was not in place immediately
before or immediately after the storm.

'I should point out that there were National Guard troops in New Orleans
before Katrina hit. Many of them were at the Superdome. However, they
were unarmed and unprepared to deal with the looting and violence. If
anything, this fact only serves to illustrate the incompetence. If the
situation was serious enough to warrant placing uniformed soldiers in
front of the largest shelter, surely it was serious enough to provide
them with the tools they might need if the situtation actually got out
of hand. It was a typical liberal response to a crisis. Do something -
anything - to show that you are on top of the situation and that you
"care" without any consideration as to the effectiveness of your actions.

'Once flood waters entered the city through the Seventeenth Street
canal, the New Orleans Police Department was incapable of handling the
situation. President Bush does not have the authority to order troops
into an American city. Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco and the
(largely African American) New Orleans civil authorities are the real
incompetents behind the disastrous aftermath. The poverty of New Orleans
itself is largely a byproduct of third-world political systems dominated
by Democrats.

'As soon as Ms. Blanco finally conceded that she was way out of her
league and asked for full Federal assistance, the immediate problems
were sorted out in short order. Of course, you won't find any tapes of
her concession speech. Ms. Blanco's capitulation was behind closed doors.

'It now appears that the Governor has refused to sign over full
authority to the Federal government. Now that things have stabilized,
she reportedly is insisting that the State government retain control
over the troops and that James Witt, President Clinton's FEMA Director,
be put in charge under her so-called leadership. Just what we need, the
Clinton administration and the Blanco administration working hand in
hand to feel our pain.

'Further, people need to understand the scope of the problem. New
Orleans is a large city with limited access under the best of
circumstances. Everything to the east of New Orleans was completely
destroyed and impassable. The remaining thoroughfares to the north,
north-west and west were inaccessible to the worst areas of flooding.
There is no egress to the south. On top of that, there was a well armed
gang and drug addict population determined to take full advantage of the
situation by preventing the police from restoring order. The National
Guard should have been on the ground in force last Monday evening. The
fact that they were not is fully Governor Blanco's fault. I love New
Orleans, but any professional person from the city will tell you that
the civil catastrophe was foreseeable. New Orleans has been crippled by
corrupt and incompetent local leaders for many years. (In fact, New
Orleans government has always been corrupt, but fifty years ago it was
much more competent.)

'The one criticism of President Bush that I share with you is his poor
omprehension of the situation. He stated on television that no one
realized the levees were going to break - as if this exact scenario had
not been forecast for decades. Unfortunately, we all knew it would
happen eventually. Governor Blanco just didn't do anything to prepare
for the possibility that last Monday and Tuesday were the days of reckoning.

'Finally, a word about disaster relief. If you were present, you would
see the overwhelming generosity and coordination of private citizens in
response to Katrina. This is the heart of the American conservative
message - government is often incompetent and usually a hindrance. Only
private efforts can be relied upon to quickly effect results. The
churches of Baton Rouge are the backbone of all local efforts. I'm sure
the same is true wherever evacuation shelters have been established. I
spent my weekend helping to set up a temporary hospital in Baton Rouge
and delivering supplies to a shelter on the Southern University campus.
Others were active at shelters in the Baton Rouge convention center and
on the campus of Louisiana State University. At least a hundred people
from University Baptist Church were involved. Our facility has been
designated as a drop off point for relief supplies. We are just one
congregation among hundreds in Louisiana working to bring peace and
stability to the thousands of American citizens left stranded by
Katrina. Our people will be provided with the world's greatest disaster
assistance. We did it after the tsunami, we are doing it after Katrina.
The initial deadly incompetent response is a national disgrace. But
recovery from the sudden destruction of a major city was never expected
to be easy.

'I could share much more, but I am busy helping my law partners rebuild
our New Orleans firm out of the Baton Rouge office. We grieve for our
beautiful city. No-one has yet stopped to comprehend what the loss of
New Orleans will mean to our lives in the years ahead. But we will
survive, God willing.'

Another jerk. PLONK.
wrote in message
...

'In our Federal system, the President is and in this case was painfully at
the mercy of state officials. Just as President Bush cannot be blamed for
the fact that New Orleans was hit by a category four hurricane - global
warming or no global warming -- he is not responsible for the fact that
the Louisiana National Guard was not in place immediately before or
immediately after the storm.

'I should point out that there were National Guard troops in New Orleans
before Katrina hit. Many of them were at the Superdome. However, they were
unarmed and unprepared to deal with the looting and violence. If anything,
this fact only serves to illustrate the incompetence. If the situation was
serious enough to warrant placing uniformed soldiers in front of the
largest shelter, surely it was serious enough to provide them with the
tools they might need if the situtation actually got out of hand. It was a
typical liberal response to a crisis. Do something - anything - to show
that you are on top of the situation and that you "care" without any
consideration as to the effectiveness of your actions.

'Once flood waters entered the city through the Seventeenth Street canal,
the New Orleans Police Department was incapable of handling the situation.
President Bush does not have the authority to order troops into an
American city. Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco and the (largely African
American) New Orleans civil authorities are the real incompetents behind
the disastrous aftermath. The poverty of New Orleans itself is largely a
byproduct of third-world political systems dominated by Democrats.

'As soon as Ms. Blanco finally conceded that she was way out of her league
and asked for full Federal assistance, the immediate problems were sorted
out in short order. Of course, you won't find any tapes of her concession
speech. Ms. Blanco's capitulation was behind closed doors.

'It now appears that the Governor has refused to sign over full authority
to the Federal government. Now that things have stabilized, she reportedly
is insisting that the State government retain control over the troops and
that James Witt, President Clinton's FEMA Director, be put in charge under
her so-called leadership. Just what we need, the Clinton administration
and the Blanco administration working hand in hand to feel our pain.

'Further, people need to understand the scope of the problem. New
Orleans is a large city with limited access under the best of
circumstances. Everything to the east of New Orleans was completely
destroyed and impassable. The remaining thoroughfares to the north,
north-west and west were inaccessible to the worst areas of flooding.
There is no egress to the south. On top of that, there was a well armed
gang and drug addict population determined to take full advantage of the
situation by preventing the police from restoring order. The National
Guard should have been on the ground in force last Monday evening. The
fact that they were not is fully Governor Blanco's fault. I love New
Orleans, but any professional person from the city will tell you that the
civil catastrophe was foreseeable. New Orleans has been crippled by
corrupt and incompetent local leaders for many years. (In fact, New
Orleans government has always been corrupt, but fifty years ago it was
much more competent.)

'The one criticism of President Bush that I share with you is his poor
omprehension of the situation. He stated on television that no one
realized the levees were going to break - as if this exact scenario had
not been forecast for decades. Unfortunately, we all knew it would happen
eventually. Governor Blanco just didn't do anything to prepare for the
possibility that last Monday and Tuesday were the days of reckoning.

'Finally, a word about disaster relief. If you were present, you would see
the overwhelming generosity and coordination of private citizens in
response to Katrina. This is the heart of the American conservative
message - government is often incompetent and usually a hindrance. Only
private efforts can be relied upon to quickly effect results. The churches
of Baton Rouge are the backbone of all local efforts. I'm sure the same is
true wherever evacuation shelters have been established. I spent my
weekend helping to set up a temporary hospital in Baton Rouge and
delivering supplies to a shelter on the Southern University campus. Others
were active at shelters in the Baton Rouge convention center and on the
campus of Louisiana State University. At least a hundred people from
University Baptist Church were involved. Our facility has been designated
as a drop off point for relief supplies. We are just one congregation
among hundreds in Louisiana working to bring peace and stability to the
thousands of American citizens left stranded by Katrina. Our people will
be provided with the world's greatest disaster assistance. We did it after
the tsunami, we are doing it after Katrina. The initial deadly incompetent
response is a national disgrace. But recovery from the sudden destruction
of a major city was never expected to be easy.

'I could share much more, but I am busy helping my law partners rebuild
our New Orleans firm out of the Baton Rouge office. We grieve for our
beautiful city. No-one has yet stopped to comprehend what the loss of New
Orleans will mean to our lives in the years ahead. But we will survive,
God willing.'

On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 00:13:55 -0400, wrote
(in article ):

'It now appears that the Governor has refused to sign over full
authority to the Federal government. Now that things have stabilized,
she reportedly is insisting that the State government retain control
over the troops and that James Witt, President Clinton's FEMA Director,
be put in charge under her so-called leadership. Just what we need, the
Clinton administration and the Blanco administration working hand in
hand to feel our pain.


GREAT NEWS we have a real man now in charge in NO, James Witt. President
Clinton put an expert in charge of FEMA unlike Failure in the WH that put a
political hack in charge that has been fired from his job at the horse assc.

Blance is doing the best job given Cakeboys help that is only now starting to
show up.