Back in the United States, President Bush toured the Kansas town of Greensburg Wednesday, days after a tornado that killed 10 people. The president faced continued criticism recovery efforts have been hampered because much of Kansas National Guard personnel and equipment is in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kansas lacks about half the large equipment it could use for recovery efforts and debris removal, including dump trucks and front loaders. President Bush said he could offer this help.

President Bush: “Our role as government officials is to work with the state and local folks to get whatever help is appropriate here, whatever help is in the law to be here as quickly as possible. My mission today though is to lift people’s spirits as best as I possibly can, to hopefully touch somebody’s soul.”

President Bush was accompanied by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Governor Sebelius said another major incident needing Guard support would force her into “a terrible choice” of who to help. She said, “After four years (of war), there’s no question that, year after year, guard supplies are depleted not just in Kansas but all over the country.”