Posted on 09/01/2005 8:38:21 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
Government is to blame for the chaos
New Orleans damage, looting might have been less severe if there were better disaster planning
James P. Pinkerton
As we see the devastation from Hurricane Katrina - caused first by nature and now by looters, shooters and carjackers - it's time to state the obvious. We need a larger vision of homeland security, as well as a better focus on the American homeland.
Politicians of both parties have sounded warnings for some time, but true leadership on readying for disaster has been lacking. And so the images from New Orleans this week have recalled not only the panic of 9/11 in New York City but the chaos of April 2003 in Baghdad after the United States ousted Saddam Hussein - and the looters took charge.
There was warning from on high but not much doing. On July 16, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Republican of Arkansas and new chairman of the National Governors Association, took note of heavy deployments of state National Guard units to Iraq. "If we had a major natural disaster, we would be stretched thin," he warned. "All governors right now are worried about the long-term impact of long deployment."
But it doesn't appear that governors did much about these concerns beyond griping to the press. The Louisiana Guard, for example, has about 11,000 members, of whom 3,000 are in Iraq. And yet, of the remaining 8,000 in the Pelican State, fewer than half were on duty the day Katrina struck. Does that look like good leadership from Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco?
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
The comparison to Baghdad two years ago is inescapable. Back then, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, in love with his vision of high-tech warfare, was unwilling to commit the "boots on the ground" that might have kept the peace. Instead, Rumsfeld waved away concerns about the collapse of Iraqi civil society with such airy comments as, "Freedom's untidy."
Gee, I guess we are just going to have to get out of Iraq.
It was poor planning but it was poor planning over decades that has made the situation so bad.
Evil, trashy people are to blame. Stupid, corrupt government is a second-level contributor.
Another idiot heard from. Even in the regular Army, not everybody is on duty all the time.
And so the images from New Orleans this week have recalled not only the panic of 9/11 in New York City but the chaos of April 2003 in Baghdad after the United States ousted Saddam Hussein - and the looters took charge.Except for those fleeing the dust cloud when the Towers crashed, I saw no panic in NYC on 9/11. No looting whatsoever. Comparing New York's response to the mayhem when Baghdad fell is obscene.
Better title and article would have been, "Poor State Government Leadership To Blame For Chaos After Katrina".
How many more do they need?! The hate of the liberals and their media whores toward President Bush is something that cannot be comprehended by any human with any decent morality.
So, you're saying that making sure a prisoners "right" to a sex change should take a backseat to keeping up with infrastructure?
It's an imperfect world. And furthermore, I don't want the government planning every contingency for every possible event that could happen.
First, it would be cost prohibitive and second, it would eliminate what freedom that we have left.
For a minute I thought it was Bush's fault for failing to sign the Kyoto treaty, for committing money to the fictional war on terror and for the deployment of National Guard troops in Iraq...
gawd, I love the libs, they are so frickin predictable.
Seriously, please tell me which one of the Democrat recruits you are
- kid who picked his nose and all the other kids made fun of.
- kid who played in the band because he was a pussy and couldn't play football
- kid who didn't study but blamed all the smart kids for pushing the good grades further and further away from you
- kid whose momma wiped his rear and told him everyday that his rear end was more different and special than all the other kids' rear ends
- chick with the unibrow, hairy legs, poor social skills that hated the other girls
Go back to the DU underground and whine about the "government" nipple not quite reaching your lips and leave the job of recovery to the men and women who work for a living....you whining little p@ssy.
Umm NO. This was not an attack. This is a FEMA issue. Funny how urgently some "conservatives" are trying to take the focus off the State of Louisiana Govt and it's complete failure to respond adequately to beat their dead hobby horse of Bush hatred. Contrary to the delusions of the Hate Bush crowd, the Feds cannot do what ever they want, where ever they want, when ever they want. The primary response to any such crises has to be local and state. It takes time for the Feds to move in. They have to GET there first, the LOCALS ARE THERE! So lets put the political posturing on hold for a few days OK? The response of the Bush haters does a LOT more damage to THEIR credibility then it does to Bush
Ahhhhhhh...that's Poor "State" Government planning..it's their responsibility, but it looks like the feds are taking over...cuz it is clear LA Governor is incompetent...no surprise there.
And I thought government was the answer to all our problems. How possibly could government let us down?!?! /sarcasm
Otherwise:
Buah's Fault!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.