Hmmm... interesting point, Sarge.

I wonder how much more effective those troops would've been if they hadn't been in Iraq!

And, of course, the govt/military response in NO hasn't exactly been impressive. (Unless by "impressive" one means to say, "I never realized just how ineptly things could be handled.")

neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/4683.php

Additionally, while a huge, well-coordinated response is necessary for NO, why does it need to be done by an institution whose primary focus is on attacking and killing? Imagine if we put hundreds of billions of dollars into the maintenance and expansion of critical infrastructure (in the US) rather than tossing that money away on stealth bombers, nuclear weapons, cluster bombs and napalm. Just imagine it.

When it comes to responsibility for this situation, which is now FUBAR, we should focus on the decision makers:

Pentagon: USS Bataan Waited Days For Orders to Help Out
Criticism of the federal government's response is also coming from some unlikely sources including the Pentagon. Lt. Commander Sean Kelly, a Pentagon spokesman for Northern Command, revealed on the BBC that NorthCom was prepared to send in search and rescue helicopters from the USS Bataan almost immediately after the hurricane hit. He said, "We had things ready. The only caveat is: we have to wait until the president authorizes us to do so." That authorization didn't happen for days even though the ship was docked just outside New Orleans. On board the ship had doctors, hospital beds, food and the ability to make up to 100,000 gallons of water a day.

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PS: Are you ever going to respond to my points, Sarge?