Bush sends marines as flood fury grows
· 20,000 still trapped in burning city· We let citizens down, admits President

Julian Borger and Jamie Doward in Baton Rouge
Sunday September 4, 2005
The Observer

President George Bush ordered an extra 17,000 troops - including 7,000 elite airborne troops and marines - into New Orleans and the devastated Gulf Coast yesterday to try to bolster the stumbling flood relief effort and salvage the reputation of his presidency.

The order was announced after it became clear that National Guard troops sent into the city on Friday were no match for the scale of the disaster unleashed by Hurricane Katrina and the consequent collapse of the levees around the city. Within two days the number of military personnel in the area is hoped to reach some 54,000 people.