CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 09, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - Cleanup of the damage caused Friday when an F-5 tornado tore through the Kansas town of Greensburg has been slowed because National Guard resources are in Iraq, according to a group of anti-war activists and the Kansas governor.The White House fired back, pointing to what it said was the failure by Kansas Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to ask for cleanup equipment that is available from other states and the federal government.
But after absorbing so much criticism for the way it handled Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Bush administration is once again under attack following a natural disaster."Here we are looking at Tuesday, and they're still doing search and rescue because they've had to bring in support" from other states, Jane Bullock, chief of staff to former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director James Lee Witt, said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
"What is most disheartening is the fact that we now lack the equipment needed to clean up and go in and help the citizens ... because they were shipped over to Iraq," Kansas Democratic State Sen. Donald Betts said during the call sponsored by the National Security Network and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.The groups argue that National Guard troops and resources that could be used in rescue and cleanup efforts for natural disasters have been used and depleted in Iraq. They called on the Bush administration to bring troops home and re-equip the National Guard and Reserves.
REST OF STORY:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200705/NAT20070509a.html
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