THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

In go the troops:

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she has asked the White House to send more people to help with evacuations and rescues, thereby freeing up National Guardsmen to stop looters.

An additional 10,000 National Guard troops from across the country began pouring into the Gulf Coast on Wednesday to shore up security, rescue and relief operations. The new units brought the number of troops dedicated to the effort to more than 28,000, in what may be the largest military response to a natural disaster.

"We will restore law and order," Blanco said. "What angers me the most is that disasters like this often bring out the worst in people. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."

Well guv, you tolerated it for two days, and now looters are shooting at police who are trying to evacuate the Superdome.

As for the troops going in, while I have nothing but respect for the National Guard, I don't think they'll be up to the job. New Orleans has become an amphibious operations environment. Army National Guard troops are trained in desert warfare and urban warfare, typically. Most units have no experience in amphibious operations--sections of the city are under 20 feet of water. The looters aren't too likely to be in those areas, but they will be in shallower areas and areas where the streets are relatively free of water. I think this job requires troops who do have amphibious operations training and experience--the US Marine Corp.

I do think, by the way, that the mere loudspeaker announcement that the Marines are being deployed to take care of the looters would cause most of the miscreant to stand down. And that would be preferrable to sending in less capable troops that might actually have to fight against US citizens.