A hidden cost of the Iraq War

Context: Greensburg, Kansas, was obliterated by a tornado. 95% of the town of 1500 was destroyed.

"Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has reminded us that President Bush’s disastrous misadventure in Iraq has purposely left states unprepared and unable to respond adequately to natural disasters that we should expect. "We’re missing about half of our trucks from the National Guard units," Sebelius said. "Clearly trucks to haul this debris away would be enormously helpful. We are missing flatbeds. We are missing Humvees, which are used to get people to safety and security and to haul equipment around. We are missing a number of our well-trained National Guard personnel. The equipment that we continue to harp on that has been sent overseas when our troops are deployed and not restored at the same level could be enormously helpful."

(from dailykos.com)