Did the Diversion of Resources for the Iraq War Slow the Wildfire Fight?

As California continues to grapple with the spate of terrible wildfires - and new reports that some residents will face hardships for weeks to come, including polluted air, no electricity and no drinking water - it's time to ask if the interminable war in Iraq depleted resources that would have helped the firefighting effort.

And, when the next major earthquake, firestorm, or similar disaster comes, as it surely will, will the diversion of resources create an even greater calamity.

One of greatest tragedies of Hurricane Katrina was the failure of our governmental agencies to rapidly react in the face of the disaster - in part due to the absence of national guard forces who'd been sent overseas - with the resulting loss of life and devastation from which New Orleans is still struggling to recover.

Like every other state, California has experienced a sharp diversion of its National Guard and major equipment shortages that Guard officials themselves have said hinder their ability to respond to a major disaster.

In May, the Guard's Director of Public Affairs Lt. Col. John Siepmann told the San Francisco Chronicle, that a dearth of troops and essential supplies were a growing worry. "Our concern is a catastrophic event. You would see a less effective response," he warned.

The Chronicle reported that the Guard was missing about $1 billion in equipment, including scores of military trucks and Humvees that could be used for transport. Guard guidelines recommend having 39 diesel generators and 1,410 Global Positioning Satellite devices, but there were none on hand, the Chronicle noted.

Similarly, a USA Today survey in June found that California's National Guard had only half of its available equipment required for preparedness for dealing with natural disasters such as a major wildfire or earthquake. Guard officials told USA Today they were short 800 Humvees, 700 medium tactical vehicles and 50 heavy lifter trucks.

Our Guard troop levels have also been stripped down. Gov. Schwarzenegger's office says about 2,500 of our state's 20,000 Guard personnel are deployed overseas, but other reports have put that number as high as 6,000, or nearly a third of our protective force.

Should this be a cause for concern? The acting U.S. Army Secretary Peter Geren thought so. In an August letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, he warned that California's Guard had adequate resources "to respond to small and medium domestic missions," but that "equipment shortages could potentially limit their capability to fully respond to large-scale emergencies."

Boxer voiced her own alarm following that letter, noting in a letter to President Bush, "as a senator from a state where such disasters are far too common, I urge you to take immediate action to ensure that our National Guard is fully prepared to respond to domestic emergencies.''

While California's National Guard Adjutant General Major Gen. William Wade challenged the Army's readiness assessment, his own comments hardly provided much reassurance. The real problem, he said, in a report in the Daily News of Los Angeles, is that the National Guard doesn't have much equipment to begin with -- and what it does have is out of date and in poor condition.

Before the Congress gives the President the next $46 billion he requested this week for the war, they ought to start by providing the equipment we need at home.

California and the Gulf Coast before us are not alone in facing this problem. Just last week, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine blasted the planned deployment of more of his Guard troops to Iraq or Afghanistan which he said, "is undermining of the basic purpose of the National Guard, which is to protect local and state elements from floods and fires."

The heroic efforts of our firefighters, nurses, and other emergency personnel deserve our highest praise. But it is disgraceful to deprive them of the support they need in a moment of crisis.

There are many reasons to oppose the war in Iraq as most Americans do. But bleeding our emergency safety net at home is especially deplorable.

Deborah Burger is a member of the Council of Presidents of the California Nurses Association.

Comments

[wsblake]

The neoconservatives who have hijacked our nation, already have a plan. It's called privatization . We have only seen the beginning of what will be the further corporatization of the military and many other public good services. Blackwater, Halliburton, Bechtel, and a host of others are already feeding at the troughs. And these people are ruthless ,bottom-line sociopaths who have absolutely no allegiance to America.

[MagisterLudi]

According to experts, letting some of the fires burn would benefit the area in a long run. Especially in the wilderness area.
I support the Nurses union and I am against the war in Iraq and out psychopath president Cheney.
Still this blog is a reflexive knee-jerk...and without that doctor's hammer thingie.

[realitytrumpsbull]

I understood that the state of CA had something
like a 100 billion dollar budget. I think that'll buy a couple of fire trucks, there,
and, seeing as how you've got all that coastal
area, can't you just hire enough drivers to go
get enough ocean water to do whatever needs done
in the way of firefighting? Ocean water+ fire=muddy ashes. Maybe a couple of dead
fish, the odd scuba diver or something, but that is the general idea, keep pouring water on
it until it goes out etc. But, chances are that
California's like the other states, too many
people with their hand in the till, can't
balance their books if their lives depended
on it, so forth and so on...they'll get 80
billion from Congress or something to make
it all better...saga continues...

[Professor73]

I think you will find, of course if you bothered to look, that nothing in the Iraq war had any negative impact on the ability to support the heroic efforts of these people fighting fires.

Perhaps you should focus on how to prevent these fires and how to control them locally. I am always amazed that literally within the eye site of most of these fires is the Pacific Ocean. Why haven't the local governments tapped into that resource? I don't see anything wrong with building a fire suppression system on these hill tops using this available resource. When you consider the cost in fighting these fires and the damage that occurs, it would be cheaper!

[Stevelagain]

Deboarah,

To me, your case against President Bush and the war in Iraq (claiming it deprived California of what it needed to fight the fire) is hollow and groundless. Don't you think Arnold would have used the thousands of public school buses in California IF he had needed them? Esp after the democrats in New Orleans embarrassingly FAILED to do so! California had plenty of transportation vehicles available to them and used what they needed.

About the "MISSING" equipment. No, it's not "missing" its where our men and women on the front lines NEED IT MOST.

You didn't come close to providing proof that the equipment in Iraq was NEEDED in California. I'm hearing from most sides that it was very well handled and that people are actually returning home now in many areas. Saying these vehicles "could" have been used for transportation does not make the case that people weren't transported. In fact, it appears they weren't needed at all it was a nearly perfect evacuation!

You and others are trying to capitalize on a disaster to lend validity to your political agenda. And the case you are trying to make doesn't apply. No where did you prove that any fire fighting equipment was missing that was needed. No where did you provide proof that thousands or hundreds were left behind with no transportation. Shouldn't you be more concerned about helping out, rather than using this disaster to wage political cultural war?

Were you as quick to smear the liberal democratic mayor of New Orleans who had hundreds of school buses on hand that he really could have transported victims that could find no transportation? In New Orleans you had a case of gross incompetence on the part of the mayor and the governor which led to many deaths. In California they pulled together and got the job done.

No need to scream about Iraq...it had nothing to do with this. Perhaps you should have written about the arsonists and what we all can do to help the victims?