Looting in New Orleans versus Looting in Baghdad

The British newspaper, The Independent, yesterday carried a story about the "looting" that is going on in Baghdad. According to the story, one billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defense ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, leaving the the country's army to fight an insurgency with museum piece weapons.

The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to Iraq was siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared. The article suggests that officials appointed by the US military were implicated in the theft. The newspaper story has all the details.

Compare the looting in Baghdad to the looting that went on in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina left thousands homeless and destitute. Remember all that outrage by the conservative pundits as images of black people leaving Wallgreens on Canal Street with their packages of diapers and bottled water were replayed over and over on our television screens.

Maybe we should be more offended over the "looting" in Baghdad than over what happened in New Orleans.


Update: Today is Black Monday. From this day forward you will have to shell out the cash if you want to read on-line what New York Times columnists such as Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert and Maureen Dowd have to day. Here's a link where you can read (for free) what Krugman has to say in today's Times. I am still searching for a link for today's Bob Herbert column. Let me know if you know of a link and I'll pass it on. Both Krugman and Herbert are providing some of the best analysis on the implications of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.