Guardsmen 'played cards' amid New Orleans chaos

Guardsmen 'played cards' amid New Orleans chaos: police official - Yahoo! News:

NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - A top New Orleans police officer said that National Guard troops sat around playing cards while people died in the stricken city after Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans deputy police commander W.S. Riley launched a bitter attack on the federal response to the disaster though he praised the way the evacuation was eventually handled.

'The guard arrived 48 hours after the hurricane with 40 trucks. They drove their trucks in and went to sleep.

'For 72 hours this police department and the fire department and handful of citizens were alone rescuing people. We have people who died while the National Guard sat and played cards. I understand why we are not winning the war inIraq if this is what we have.'

Let me get this straight. The first guard troops, a small contingent, arrive in 48 hours. Not too bad, really. They then park their trucks, take a nap and play cards without lifting a finger to help either the police or rescue efforts?. Holy shit.