RKA

My point was simple...people lost their lives on 9/11, and that day changed life for the rest of us. I feel it's extremely important that we learn something from that experience, and APPLY that knowledge. We owe that to the people that lost their lives. I don't regret a single word I've posted, because I believe it...in my heart. People remember events in their own way, and take away their own meaning from it. I shared my thoughts on the matter, and if anyone disagrees with me, that's their right.

I hope the powers that be get your out of Iraq safe and sound.

RKA

and my guess is you would fail miserably. But what would that prove? Rather than asking others to perform your job better, ask this question..."how can I do my job better?". If everybody did a little more of that, we'd all be better off.

Back to the topic at hand...

2fst4u2c

sight of the task at hand. I respect what you wrote, and i hope you wouldnt take it back for anything. I beleive we're all on the same side here and that just as you stated, everyone deals with things differently.

I may not agree with why I'm here, but i stand ready to fight for my country and its people if the situation presents itself. I feel that nowadays, many americans are playing the blame game and pointing fingers when securing a safe resolution and extraction from Iraq is the best bet. We just can't do it right now...

And in many senses, it can be applied to the Hurricane as well, lets admit we made mistakes and keep moving forward because without progress, we're at a standstill and people's lives are in danger.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf" ~Orwell

RedWing

Well said.

RKA

Just for a minute, let's pretend it's really a process of learning from the past.

Is there ever any progress if we don't learn from the past?

Do we bear any responsibility if the past repeats itself?

How much will be remembered after people work 20 hour days for a months straight? How clear will those memories be at the end of the recovery period? Can we adequately autopsy an event of this proportion months afterwards?

Nobody is suggesting that we should cast aside what is unfolding before our eyes. But consider this...a series of events unfolded that brought you to Iraq. You're doing your job and serving your country fighting for something we believe in. Let's suppose a similar set of circumstances brings your sons or daughters off to fight a war 20 years from now. Would you hope somebody learned something from the first series of events? Maybe enough to keep your family safer while they did their duty, or perhaps to even to preclude their need to "fight" for their country?

Using phrases like "the blame game", "finger pointing", and "scapegoating" really don't do justice to the process that's unfolding before our eyes, and it's importance in the grander scheme of things.

I've gone way off the beaten path here. I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think some good could come up it. If it was anybody else on this forum, I would have ended this conversation. You're in a unique situation in that you're in Iraq commenting on things happening around you (in a sense). I'm just asking you to look at things from a different perspective before you conclude what is right and what is wrong.

FWIW, I voted for Bush...because I knew he would get us out of Iraq the "right way", which is safe for us, and safe for the people whose country give back to them. I'm sure the right way will result in more good in the long run...whether this president brings us to that end is another question....

2fst4u2c

I see that your conviction and sentiment is truly heartfelt and I don't want you to think that your words are lost on me. I am in a unique situation, I do have a jaded perspective on the way things unfold as unfortunate as it sounds. I wish I could comment more accurately on the entire situation in Louisiana, but the honest truth is that I have left myself uneducated and am speaking broadly based on the small amount of facts I've been able to gleen here and there.

Basically, what I'm attempting to say is that even though many of us are over here in the forsaken desert, we hear and read alot about who goes on at home. Everytime I turn around Bush is getting bashed for Iraq and the State Government in Louisiana have "dropped the ball" so to speak... But little is said about the philanthropists who've dontated their own capital, homes, food and time to the relief that I find Americans caught up in the "blame game" (there it is again). We're losing sight of the current objective. Sometimes I feel that we're so steeped with the gloom of ignorance that we won't even know victory when we achieve it. Both in Louisiana and Iraq.

I think that "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat is" is very appropriate here.

Unfortunatetly I have trouble of making the leap from Terrorist attack recovery and crisis management to a tragic natural disaster and the relief that goes along with it and say we were unprepared or mismanaged two different types of situations. I think that if, god forbid, something similar to 9/11 should ever happen again, we WILL be prepared and we WILL manage it correctly.

Lets get through the Katrina debacle and worry about a possible 'next time' as opposed to worrying about how we bungled this one, and get these people safe and sound.

As anyone following this forum would begin to agree that the topic has shifted and this could almost be considered a **THREAD JACK**.

I thank you for your support and know that we're both advocating the same thing and fighting the same fight

My2ndS4

Are you saying that 25,000 people are dead? If so, I think you are waaaaaaay off.

RKA

I've only touched on the crisis mismanagement. Though you may not see it there (Iraq), from where I'm sitting, a lot of attention is also focused on those people working to improve the situation. Here are some things I have been seeing on the news or hearing about lately...

Hundreds of thousands were able to flee the region before the storm hit...due to emergency management planning. (What's all this news about the people that are stuck in La? Well, for some it was lack of transportation, for others, they refused to leave or believe the gravity of the situation, and still others just waiting a little too long before considering appropriate measures.)

One woman in Texas took in some 30+ displaced people into her 3 bedroom home. She had no idea how she was going to manage it, and she didn't care. She just wanted to help. News reports indicate that the displaced people are being housed across most of the 50 states at this time. 1000's of volunteer hours go into preparing makeshift homes in other cities for these people.

A man from NJ is down there on his vacation rescuing abandoned animals (pets). He estimated one rescue truck will retrieve about 150 animals a day. The pets have largely been abandoned because rescue efforts made no provisions (or exceptions) for animals (even pets).

I met a gentleman from this forum 2 weeks ago. He's a physician in my area, and he mentioned he would be working a lot of extra hours at the office for the foreseeable future as his partner is down in La helping with the recovery efforts (presumably he's a pediatrician).

There are countless other stories about people uprooting their lives and going south to help with the efforts.

Another person on this forum mentioned that he's opening his doors to displaced residents of the affected areas.

Doctors and nurses in La somehow managed to keep scores of patients alive with no power, little food, limited water and minimal other resources other than their own creativity.

I was able to find someone on this forum whose company does a 4 to 1 match on all employee donations directed towards recovery efforts down south. I gladly opened my wallet, knowing this was a rare opportunity to see a few pennies (to me) turn into so much more.

Perhaps it may seem like we're incapable of realizing victory, but perhaps our motivations lie beyond a single victory, and perhaps that is what drives us to be the country that we are.

Swank4

props for the rememberance shout. There's no way to accurately measure but, IMHO, this country is far from being secure...and much less has been done than should be. It amazes me how thick some people (politicians, officals) can be.

Thanks to those who are fighting despite our government's incompetencies.

Swank4

The numbers of verified dead from Katrina are in the low hundreds (granted, projected to grow higher as IDs are made) but 2749 were killed in the WTC and another 2000+ soldiers have died in Iraq. I'm not making a pullout argument but just trying to set your numbers straight.

And in regards to resources - there are 1.4 million military plus 600,000 reserves or national guard. About 140,000 are in Iraq and 62,000 in the Gulf Coast according to the pentgon. So, the issue doesn't appear to be a shortage but a response and execution issue.