Iraq War Taking Lives, Money, and Equipment

ICasualties has the latest in the fatalities in Iraq:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	3368
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	10
Total	3378

Besides losing our young men and women in Iraq, the untold stories of wounds and lost limbs, and the scars of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), our country has lost billions and billions of dollars. Now another cost of the war has become evident--- National Guard Members and their equipment are in Iraq and cannot respond to disasters here at home.

Kansas.com:

When Kansas National Guard equipment was being shipped to the war in Iraq, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius warned that if a major disaster hit here, Guard troops wouldn't have enough equipment on hand.

The destruction of Greensburg by a tornado Friday night has stretched Guard resources thin, the governor said Monday.

"About 50 percent of our trucks are gone; we need trucks," she said in an interview with CNN. "We're missing Humvees; we're missing all kinds of equipment that can help us respond to this kind of emergency."

However, the administration had a different story (WBAY):

The White House is rejecting criticism from the governor of Kansas that the war in Iraq has exposed holes in disaster response to events like the Greensburg tornado.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (seh-BEEL'-yuhs) says much of the National Guard's equipment and some key personnel are in Iraq. She says the lack of resources has hurt the response to the twister that killed nine and virtually wiped out the town.But White House spokesman Tony Snow says the National Guard has equipment in place around the country to respond when states need it.....

The failures of this administration's ability and desire to respond to natural disasters is evident when we remember one word-----KATRINA.