This item was posted early this morning on the WWL-TV Katrina Blog
5:37 A.M. – Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared war on looters as 300 National Guard troops landed in New Orleans fresh from duty in Iraq. “These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will,” she said.
The issue of shooting looters has been banging its way around the blogosphere for days now. Michelle Malkin was talking about it two days ago and La Shawn Barber was talking about it yesterday. Peggy Noonan is saying let’s shoot them now.
At this point, its no longer a question of looting. The situation in New Orleans is a complete breakdown in the social order. I’m afraid that shooting looters, and anyone else who doesn’t listen to the authorities trying to re-establish order, may be the only way to stop an increasingly desperate situation from getting worse.
At the same time, though, the idea of American soldiers shooting at American citizens on the streets of an American city is something that should terrify all of us. Its something this country has never seen before, and if it did happen I’m not sure what the consequences would be for the future.
Katrina hit on Monday. It is now Friday and, as this post from Michelle Malkin indicates things are going from very bad to much worse. Order must be restored so that the people remaining in New Orleans can be helped. If that means imposing martial law, which hasn’t really happened yet despite what the media has said over the past several days, then that’s what it means. So far, at least, there have been no signs that this is actually going to happen in New Orleans, and the consequences can be seen unfolding on television sets across the world.
