New Orleans Pursues Foreign Aid

City Turns To Rest Of World For Help With Recovery As Domestic Aid Slow To Come

(AP)  The cash-strapped city of New Orleans is turning to the rest of the world for help to rebuild as federal hurricane recovery dollars remain slow to flow.

Kenya Smith, director of intergovernmental relations for Mayor Ray Nagin, said city leaders are talking with more than five countries. He would not identify the countries, saying discussions were in the early stages. But he said the city is "very serious" about pursuing foreign help.

"Of course, we would love to have all the resources we need from federal and state partners but we're comfortable now in having to be creative," Smith said. He did not know what obstacles the city would have to overcome if it got firm pledges for aid, but "we want to make sure we're leaving no options unexplored."

"While this is not the easiest route," Smith said, "it is what it is."

For months, Nagin has complained that bureaucracy is choking the flow of much-needed federal aid dollars to New Orleans, slowing the city's recovery. As of June 8, the city said it had received just over half of the $320 million that the government has obligated for rebuilding city infrastructure and emergency response-related costs.

The city has estimated its damage at far more than that: at least $1 billion. Katrina struck Aug. 29, 2005, bursting levees and flooding 80 percent of New Orleans.

Discussions with foreign representatives have been happening on and off, but Smith said the city became re-engaged after a news report in April that millions of dollars in aid offered by foreign countries after Hurricane Katrina went unaccepted by the federal government.

It was not clear how much of the original aid offered, $854 million, remained on the table. One of the original offers came from Cuban President Fidel Castro, who proposed sending more than 1,000 medical personnel to New Orleans.

The federal government accepted about $126 million from foreign sources and encouraged some countries to give instead to private groups such as Katrina Fund sponsored by former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told a congressional committee last month.

Nagin said city officials are now trying to skirt the Bush administration and contact foreign governments directly "to see if we can get some of those dollars coming here."

Separately, Adam Sharp, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, said Landrieu is working with the government of Saudi Arabia on ways it can help restore New Orleans' City Park.

In addition, Landrieu joined some colleagues in asking Rice to respond to whether the United States is better positioned now to accept foreign aid should the need arise again.

[forthepeopl1]

and we live in america right???

THIS IS AMERICA'S ACCOUNTABILITY OVERSITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


nJULY 21 2007 IS WHEN AMERICANS WILL BE FREE AGAIN

EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..

I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.

AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..

DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,[e-mail]

ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION


they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..

just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..


its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..

they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out

[infidel_us]

New Orleans is democrat Utopia. A dem mayor, a dem city council, dem governor; dems, dems everywhere and not a brain to think.

Guess the ole chocolate city will look to Michael Moore and Cuba to bail them out.

[xzavierbrown]

the city had enough aid..they just plunndered and wasted it. what would help this city is to rid itself of its DNC govt., rid that 'chocolate' mentality. I bet you they would still be asking for aid 20 years from now..you know why???because people will still send aid.

now how can one help themselves to think that the 'chocolate' race are reduced to being parasites