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From Greensburg to Baghdad

Not long after Hurricane Katrina hit, it became evident to everyone sans the Bush administration that one of the biggest hurdles of the recovery effort was the lack of readily available National Guard resources. At present, some 40% of our NG are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. And once again we are learning the consequences of having so much of our forces no longer here to protect the homeland.

Via Raw Story:
Kansas' Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius said Monday that the effort to recover from the damage caused by tornadoes that hit six Kansas counties over the weekend is being hampered by the war in Iraq.

According to Sebelius there is a shortage of trucks, helicopters and other equipment necessary for the disaster clean up effort due to the Iraq war.

"There is no doubt at all that this will slow down and hamper the recovery," she told Reuters.

In a television interview with CNN on Sunday, Sebelius outlined the problem in more detail.

"Well, states all over the country are not only missing personnel, National Guard troops are — about 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan — but we’re missing the equipment. When the troops get deployed, the equipment goes with them," she told CNN.

"So, here in Kansas, about 50 percent of our trucks are gone. We need trucks. We’re missing Humvees, we’re missing all kinds of equipment that can help us respond to this kind of emergency."

She said that because the National Guard doesn't have the equipment it needs, the disaster relief efforts are proceeding at a much slower pace than they otherwise could.

I'll be waiting for the eventual smear campaign directed at Gov. Sebelius for not supporting the troops by suggestion they have more important work to do than quelling a civil war thousands of miles from home.

My mother often says that we should worry about taking care of our own before worrying about the rest of the world. For the citizens of Kansas, I have a feeling they would agree with that assessment right now.

Meme more.

Update: Fox News gets the grease ball rolling, natch.

(Filed at State of the Day)