Katrina

I've been slammed with several things keeping me from the blog lately, but I wanted to make a quick post related to an e-mail that was read on CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon. Basically, the writer mentioned how nice it would be to have National Guard help in the areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, but, of course, many of them are overseas, fighting to stay alive in Iraq.

It will be interesting to see if our overseas deployment has made us less able to respond to a crisis as dramatic as Katrina. The National Guard Bureau has asked all states to determine how many National Guard troops they could muster to send to the Gulf Coast. It will be a lot less than they could offer if many of them weren't off fighting a war, but it still isn't certain whether the discrepancy will be enough to make a difference. But I'm sure the police officers who are getting shot while trying to stop looters from stealing guns could have used the help.

In the meantime, members of the Louisiana National Guard had to watch in horror from their camps in Iraq as the water rose over New Orleans. They are scheduled to return home soon, if they still have homes. The days to come will determine whether we're witnessing a great American city getting wiped off the map.