"Many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans , and that is unacceptable," Bush said. (Reuters)

WASHINGTON , September 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - US President George W. Bush ordered Saturday, September 3, up to 7,000 additional active duty military forces to restore law and order in areas battered by killer Hurricane Katrina, while the military announced repatriating 300 Air Force airmen from Iraq and Afghanistan .

"The main priority is to restore and maintain law and order, and assist in recovery and evacuation efforts," Bush said in his weekly radio address, which was broadcast live for the first time in about one year, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans , and that is unacceptable," he admitted.

Bush, who has drawn fire for not quickly mobilizing more resources to help along a storm-battered stretch of the US Gulf Coast roughly the size of Britain , said the 7,000 troops would arrive in the region over the next 24 to 72 hours.

"Hour by hour, the situation is improving. Yet the enormity of the task requires more resources and more troops," he added.

In a potentially ominous shift, Bush spoke of "recovery" efforts and not "rescue" efforts -- the latter generally refers to finding and aiding people who are still alive, the former to finding and handling bodies.

Bush toured the stricken US Gulf Coast on Friday, September 2, visiting Louisiana , Alabama and Mississippi four days after Katrina pounded the region.

Flying Home

In a related development, the military announced repatriating about 300 US Air Force personnel, both active-duty airmen and reservists, mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan .

"These are Air Force personnel in Iraq , the Middle East and Afghanistan from Keesler Base in Biloxi , Mississippi . They are being sent home as their base and families have been affected by the hurricane," said Captain David Small, a spokesman for US Central Command Air Forces in Qatar .

Small said families of some US Army forces were also affected but it was unlikely they would be sent home as whole units would have to leave.

"The Air Force deploys parts of units so in a case like this it is possible to send them home," he said, adding that the Army usually deployed whole units.

US officials said the airmen will not be participating in the broader relief effort in the region.

In addition, nearly 100 airmen due to deploy from Keesler to Iraq and Afghanistan will remain at the base, with their positions overseas filled by others in the Air Force not affected by the hurricane, the Air Force said.

Keesler Air Force Base took a direct hit from Katrina but its staff and their families survived unharmed in a shelter, the base said.

Half the base was under water, with critical functions operating on backup power.

Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, the No. 2 US commander in Iraq , said on Friday that 10,000 US ground troops in Iraq are from the region affected by Katrina.

But he said that only those who have had a family member killed or hurt will be permitted to return home.

Looters Threat

Homes submerged by flood waters after Katrina struck New Orleans , Louisiana . (Reuters)

Meanwhile, the top US official in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort Saturday threatened looters in New Orleans they would soon be up against crack battle hardened combat troops.

"Some of these kids think this is a game, they have a gun and they think it is a game they are playing," said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Michael Brown.

"Those kind of hot spots will continue, they are going to learn very quickly the 82nd Airborne does not like to be shot at."

Brown admitted that though security was vastly improved in the city there remain a "few hot spots."

"We still have some of these folks rampaging through," he said, but added there had been no shootings in the last 48 hours.

Before striking the Gulf Coast , Katrina last week hit southern Florida , where it killed seven people.

It knocked out electricity to about 2.3 million customers, or nearly 5 million people, in Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama and Florida .

The storm had swept through oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico , where 20 percent of the nation's energy is produced.

At least two drilling rigs were knocked adrift and one in Mobile Bay , Alabama , broke free of its mooring and slammed into a bridge.