So you say the following..."Within four days, Boyce said, U.S. officials had set up a combined support force with 1,500 people from numerous government and nongovernmental organizations" supports your claim that "We got aid to thailand faster than this." And a single article claiming we secured 80% of Fallujah within 5 days (we were still taking casualties weeks later) supports your claim that it took less than 4 days to secure Fallujah? Are you kidding me? By your line of thinking a person could easily claim the rescue effort in New Orleans is nearly complete. I mean, we've got 20 times more men and equipment than we had in Thailand, and probably more than 90% of the city is free from violence. Sorry, but your logic and facts just don't hold much water.
We moved faster, phenomenally faster, and more effectively in both cases, half-way accross the world than we can here and now. IF we had the same level of control of NO that we did of Falluja after 5days and were only being shot at by the occassional sniper, that would be fine, we'd have the place basically secure. But we don't. The thugs rule the streets.
As far as Thailand goes, WE had a base of ops set up and aid in country and being distributed half-way accross the world in five days. But in NO, where the supplies were "strategically" positioned before Katrina hit, we are helpless. There is no excuse. Incompetence on every level.