National Guard Admits Iraq Affected Katrina Response.

Members of the Mississippi National Guard stationed in Iraq have been denied 15-day leaves in order to help their displaced families. Commanders are saying that there are too few US troops in Iraq to spare them. 40% of Mississippi’s and 35% of Louisiana’s National Guard is in Iraq. Meanwhile, the chief of the National Guard Bureau Lt. Gen. Steven Blum told CNN that “arguably” a day or so of response time was lost due to so much of the Guard troops being in Iraq. Blum said, “Had that brigade been at home and not in Iraq, their expertise and capabilities could have been brought to bear.”