If law and order had been made the 1st priorty, then the city of New Orleans and other areas would have remained safe for citizens and unarmed relief workers of all agencies.

The same would apply to the US arrival in Bagdad or the British in Basra. (Obviously that would require a large number of arabic speaking troops/police. Which the UK with >1M muslims _should_ have.)

It is interesting to note lower scale looting in Biloxi and after Hurricane Andrew. How good is the correlation between abandoning basic law enforcement and collapase of law and order?

Certainly the reports of the US Army & Airforce personnel having to protect the internationals within the Superdome suggest that much the violence and looting is not for the purpose of survival.

Separate question: just how long would it take to wade out of New Orleans, 5-10 hours? I’ve not been there so can’t picture it.

The looting that is reported to be taking place is not where we should be focusing our attention. That is simply an expression of one of the baser sides of human nature. Everyone in America is being “looted” right now with the price of gas. It is more subtle, and does not involve broken glass or armed threat - but it is the exact same attitude of “let’s get what we can while we can”. And, you can expect it to show up in more avenues of our daily life than just gas prices. It will be in the con artists who promise to help refugees and in the myriad of scams intended to draw money from your pocket while making you think you are helping. And finally, it will come from our government - in the tax breaks you can bet that the administration will insist on passing through so that oil companies can avoid dipping into their profits in order to rebuild the economic infrastructure the region relies upon.

In short, the personal property looting is just a drop in the bucket compared to the legitimate gouging everyone in this country will face to one degree or another. Villians come in all shapes and sizes, and some wear three-piece suits.

It’s not the rescuers’ fault, or the National Guard’s. When one is fired upon, there are only two rational responses: return fire or retreat. Their rules of engagement called for the latter.

When time is critical, delays are deadly. What happened when the rescue and relief efforts were delayed should come as no surprise to anyone. While armed thugs looted and pillaged, innocent victims died.

Primary responsibility for the consequences of the looting and violence should be placed where it belongs – with those who committed the looting and violence. The theft of anything not immediately needed to sustain life and any acts of violence can not be excused, and should not be rationalized. They are simply evil, and should be regarded as such.

Meanwhile, ABC News reported last night that, at the New Orleans Convention Center, the largest emergency shelter after the Superdome, there was NOT A SINGLE PERSON from the city government. This is not inadequate preparation or even incompetence — it is a gross dereliction of duty. The person ultimately accountable for this is not the President or even the governor. It is the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin.

Nagin’s “disaster plan” apparently consisted of the following:
1. Make sure my family and possessions are safe.
2. Get my sorry a** out of town before all hell breaks loose.
3. Hide and, while hiding, prepare my talking points for when the national media arrives.
4. Blame all failures and consequences on others, especially Republicans and the President.

What a sorry piece of excrement this mayor is. Yet, if he were to stand for election against a white man today, who do you think would win?

I’m sick and tired of political pimps like Nagin blaming those who had to save their sorry a**es from the consequences of their own corruption and incompetence.

And yet, I still refuse to lose my belief in Humanity. What we’re seeing out there with the lootings and rapes and murders and mayhem — that’s not Humanity. It is human sewage with legs.

Humanity now must fix this. First thing tomorrow, Congress better declare Martial Law. And then, Shoot To Kill should be enforced. The Natl. Guard reinforcements would certainly help.