Big Easy Thoughts
I've read numerous articles/op-eds/etc. on the events surrounding hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast recently. They all express outrage, sympathy, and compassion. Many of them also express incredible anger at President Bush, and feel the need to compare Katrina to 9-11. After thinking about the hurricane, Bush, and 9-11, I've come up with the following thoughts.
Bush ought to be blamed for sending all of the Louisiana National Guard to find WMDs in Iraq, on cutting environmental funding, and on naming such a winner to head FEMA. These actions were all the direct result of his decisions, and each of these decisions contributed in some way to the devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding areas (we can argue as to the magnitude).
I will admit, however, that some of the op-ed pieces have been a bit much. The city wasn't going to be totally evacuated in any event. When was the last time an entire city, all of its elderly and poor, evacuated at once? It simply does not happen because of the logistics of such an undertaking, and because many of the people simply can't leave due to their physical and financial situations (as was clearly the case here). In addition, the levees would have required attention 15-20 years ago to be strong enough to withstand the devastation. Finally, the devastation is beyond what folks have ever seen and/or prepared for.
That being said, the reason why 9-11 is relevant is because it does highlight some administration deficiencies, especially in light of the purported preparation that has been carried out in response to 9-11. I mean, come on...people in front of the Superdome for how many days without food and water? Inexcusable. While the devastation might not have been avoidable, the response time and planning could have and should have been better.
While the democratic pundits have certainly gone a bit overboard on criticizing the president for all Katrina related problems, we should all be concerned that the government's response time was so slow, after hearing about post-9-11 emergency preparedness for years.
I look forward to Mardi Gras 2008.
Bush ought to be blamed for sending all of the Louisiana National Guard to find WMDs in Iraq, on cutting environmental funding, and on naming such a winner to head FEMA. These actions were all the direct result of his decisions, and each of these decisions contributed in some way to the devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding areas (we can argue as to the magnitude).
I will admit, however, that some of the op-ed pieces have been a bit much. The city wasn't going to be totally evacuated in any event. When was the last time an entire city, all of its elderly and poor, evacuated at once? It simply does not happen because of the logistics of such an undertaking, and because many of the people simply can't leave due to their physical and financial situations (as was clearly the case here). In addition, the levees would have required attention 15-20 years ago to be strong enough to withstand the devastation. Finally, the devastation is beyond what folks have ever seen and/or prepared for.
That being said, the reason why 9-11 is relevant is because it does highlight some administration deficiencies, especially in light of the purported preparation that has been carried out in response to 9-11. I mean, come on...people in front of the Superdome for how many days without food and water? Inexcusable. While the devastation might not have been avoidable, the response time and planning could have and should have been better.
While the democratic pundits have certainly gone a bit overboard on criticizing the president for all Katrina related problems, we should all be concerned that the government's response time was so slow, after hearing about post-9-11 emergency preparedness for years.
I look forward to Mardi Gras 2008.
posted by mattguiney at 7:26 AM
1 Comments:
Welcome back to the world of blogging, mmg.
I agree. Bush is to be blamed for a lot, but not to the extent that a lot of people are trying to do.
In addition to the logistics of evacuting an ENTIRE city, I think Americans in general still have an attitude of invulnerablility. Like: "It's just a big rain storm. Hurricane Katrina won't be that bad. We'll be fine."
9-11 didn't change that opinion. The tsunami in southeast Asia sure didn't change it. And Hurrican Katrina won't change it either.
Post a Comment
<< Home