National Guard Arrives in Chaotic New Orleans
Source: New York Times
As thousands of National Guard soldiers entered New Orleans on Friday to help restore order and deliver emergency supplies, Pentagon and Guard officials said the military's response had been slowed by a combination of physical obstacles created by the storm compounded by a cumbersome bureaucratic process for sending federal forces to assist in natural disasters.
State officials in Louisiana and Mississippi said they had overcome the absence of some 8,000 of their National Guard troops who are deployed to Iraq by drawing on Guard members from other states, but not until after the storm had passed and the magnitude of the emergency had become clear. Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, commander of the joint task force coordinating military efforts in hurricane relief, defended the prestorm preparations by the National Guard and Pentagon, including the positioning of 10,000 National Guard troops in five Gulf Coast states.
But he acknowledged that the storm damage had caught military planners off guard. Floodwaters, debris-clogged streets and crippled communications hampered initial rescue efforts. States outside the most heavily damaged area held off sending more Guard members until the storm had passed. Even after the Guard reinforcements began arriving, he said it took a long time to load and dispatch relief trucks with supplies.
Source: Canada.comBone-tired and beyond hungry, the victims of Hurricane Katrina let their emotions show when a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine finally rolled through what once was New Orleans.
A crowd of nearly 20,000 stood outside the New Orleans Convention Center as at least three dozen camouflage-green troop vehicles and supply trucks arrived Friday along with dozens of air-conditioned buses to take refugees out of the city. President George W. Bush also took an aerial tour of the city and answered complaints about a sluggish government response by saying, "We're going to make it right."
But the slow evacuation of thousands of storm refugees inside the city's Superdome football arena stalled early Saturday. It was to have been completed by dawn, but buses stopped rolling shortly after midnight. There was no immediate explanation for the halt.
About 2,000 people remained in the stadium and could be there until Sunday, according to the Texas Air National Guard.
