Katrina: An Email From The Tall Guy
If any of you hate political rants, I would seriously surf elsewhere today, because the post below is political, and blunt.
Paul's been away for a couple of days, but we've both been watching the developments in New Orleans and surrounding areas very carefully, with a sense of incredulity and shock. We discussed the events last night over the phone, and although, mine and his political views rarely gel, as he tends to veer to the right, and I tend to be a little more liberal minded, he sent me an e-mail this morning that I thought made a lot of sense.
"It’s a deep shame about what's happened in the USA.... and what makes it more shocking is that the contingency plans and disaster recovery programmes are simply not there.
Think back to the crisis in Cornwall last year... Not only did the police and army sort things, but the British people got behind each other.
The American government have been caught with their pants down and for all they claim to be the world’s police and the bastions of social responsibility, the poor backward way of living in the deep south has been exposed on a global scale.
What will the less fortunate people of the world think when they see the world’s richest country on its knees? Poverty and lack of human rights has been exposed big time.......
Fuel costs across the states is sky high.100s of thousands are homeless! The knock on effect will hurt the way the Americans live... Thus effecting the way we live.
This (I gaurantee you) will force the US administration to bring troops home from the Gulf.
Consider this:
180,000 troops in Iraq
35,000 humvee vehicles in Iraq
2,000 army helicopters in Iraq
1,500 navy helicopters in Iraq
1/4 of the US naval fleet in the Gulf
Cost = 2.5million$ per week
2,200 soldiers killed in action
It's now clear to me that the former government supporters and insurgent fighters are prepared to fight and die for their cause.
We however should not be. The war in my opinion cannot be won (not from a military perspective)....
The initiative has been lost. I have not changed my opinion Karen, I’ve just simply accepted the position that we and the Americans are now in. If we don't pull out of Iraq, we will lose more troops cause more home land bombs and risk our economic stability. The world is fucked, and the problems are all man made.
We are on the brink of total breakdown. God help us all."
This e-mail marks an amazing turn around for somebody who supported the invasion of Iraq, but I think that seeing the people of New Orleans and Mississippi suffering because of lack of manpower and contingency plans, finally brought it home to him. Charity really does begin at home.
BTW, this is not an anti-American rant, (The Tall Guy is very much Pro-American) just an acknowledgement that things aren't ok. For any of us.
Paul's been away for a couple of days, but we've both been watching the developments in New Orleans and surrounding areas very carefully, with a sense of incredulity and shock. We discussed the events last night over the phone, and although, mine and his political views rarely gel, as he tends to veer to the right, and I tend to be a little more liberal minded, he sent me an e-mail this morning that I thought made a lot of sense.
"It’s a deep shame about what's happened in the USA.... and what makes it more shocking is that the contingency plans and disaster recovery programmes are simply not there.
Think back to the crisis in Cornwall last year... Not only did the police and army sort things, but the British people got behind each other.
The American government have been caught with their pants down and for all they claim to be the world’s police and the bastions of social responsibility, the poor backward way of living in the deep south has been exposed on a global scale.
What will the less fortunate people of the world think when they see the world’s richest country on its knees? Poverty and lack of human rights has been exposed big time.......
Fuel costs across the states is sky high.100s of thousands are homeless! The knock on effect will hurt the way the Americans live... Thus effecting the way we live.
This (I gaurantee you) will force the US administration to bring troops home from the Gulf.
Consider this:
180,000 troops in Iraq
35,000 humvee vehicles in Iraq
2,000 army helicopters in Iraq
1,500 navy helicopters in Iraq
1/4 of the US naval fleet in the Gulf
Cost = 2.5million$ per week
2,200 soldiers killed in action
It's now clear to me that the former government supporters and insurgent fighters are prepared to fight and die for their cause.
We however should not be. The war in my opinion cannot be won (not from a military perspective)....
The initiative has been lost. I have not changed my opinion Karen, I’ve just simply accepted the position that we and the Americans are now in. If we don't pull out of Iraq, we will lose more troops cause more home land bombs and risk our economic stability. The world is fucked, and the problems are all man made.
We are on the brink of total breakdown. God help us all."
This e-mail marks an amazing turn around for somebody who supported the invasion of Iraq, but I think that seeing the people of New Orleans and Mississippi suffering because of lack of manpower and contingency plans, finally brought it home to him. Charity really does begin at home.
BTW, this is not an anti-American rant, (The Tall Guy is very much Pro-American) just an acknowledgement that things aren't ok. For any of us.
posted by Karen Scott at
9:17 am
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