Looting

The problems in the New Orleans area is not looting. This is the last problem that should be addressed. When the city has diverted police away from search and rescue and towards preventing looting, it is doing a dis-service to the refugees in the city. The problem is not looting, indeed that is not an appropriate term. The proper term is survival and salvage. Any goods in New Orleans stores are either destroyed or will be as the water rises and thus it is appropriate for people to take whatever they can use to survive. It shouldn't be encouraged, but diverting resources to stop it is the wrong decision. The solution should have been designed before the hurricane. The government should have a program whereby it provides the resources to evacuate anyone who wants to evacuate and provide for their survival while they are evacuated in the case of large storms. This is an imperative. Many New Orleans residents were willing to evacuate but did not have the resources or strength to evacuate on their own. If the government had provided the means, much of the human catastrophe would have been avoided. How is it that the non-survivalistic looting in Iraq was allowed with no interference but the struggle for survival and taking of necessary goods has caused the diversion of needed search and rescue resources in New Orleans? All the effort should be towards evacuating the city and saving the people still alive and struggling to stay alive and get out of city!