Our Fearless Leader
Paul Craig Roberts: How New Orleans Was Lost — This article, although extremely biased and anti-Bush does make some good points. It’s when I saw Bush “surveying” the damage from inside his 747 at high altitude instead of actually being Presidential and going down there and seeing the situation from the ground that I decided to link to this article.
Chalk up the city of New Orleans as a cost of Bush’s Iraq war.
There were not enough helicopters to repair the breeched levees and rescue people trapped by rising water. Nor are there enough Louisiana National Guards available to help with rescue efforts and to patrol against looting.
The situation is the same in Mississippi.
The National Guard and helicopters are off on a fools mission in Iraq.
The National Guard is in Iraq because fanatical neoconsevatives in the Bush administration were determined to invade the Middle East and because the incompetent Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld refused to listen to the generals, who told him there were not enough regular troops available to do the job.
After the invasion, the arrogant Rumsfeld found out that the generals were right. The National Guard was called up to fill in the gaping gaps.
Now the Guardsmen, trapped in the Iraqi quagmire, are watching on TV the families they left behind trapped by rising waters and wondering if the floating bodies are family members. None know where their dislocated families are, but, shades of Fallujah, they do see their destroyed homes.
The mayor of New Orleans was counting on helicopters to put in place massive sandbags to repair the levee. However, someone called the few helicopters away to rescue people from rooftops. The rising water overwhelmed the massive pumping stations, and New Orleans disappeared under deep water.
What a terrible casualty of the Iraqi war–one of our oldest and most beautiful cities, a famous city, a historic city.
Distracted by its phony war on terrorism, the US government had made no preparations in the event Hurricane Katarina brought catastrophe to New Orleans. No contingency plan existed. Only now after the disaster are FEMA and the Corp of Engineers trying to assemble the material and equipment to save New Orleans from the fate of Atlantis.
Even worse, articles in the New Orleans Times-Picayune and public statements by emergency management chiefs in New Orleans make it clear that the Bush administration slashed the funding for the Corp of Engineers’ projects to strengthen and raise the New Orleans levees and diverted the money to the Iraq war.
I like the fact that he calls on everyone to conserve energy while he flys around New Orleans for 40 minutes in Air Force One.
Yes, the President is supposed to go in to a town that’s being evacuated. Liberal thinking at its finest.
It’s not a shock that people like Roberts are saying a natural disaster is somehow one man’s fault. It is shocking that the left is so desperate for an issue that they’re repeating it.
James Hill
You’re right James it was better for Bush to go to Iraq during a war to eat dinner then claim “Mission Accomplished” shortly thereafter.
How is the concept of a President being on the scene — even for a minute — showing that he is the leader of a nation somehow Liberal Thinking. How hard is it?
People are being evacuated (slowly) since they have no place to live. It doesn’t mean the area cannot be visited. After all who is going in and out to move people to Houston? How do reporters get in and out?
What does asking Bush to be human someone equate to wacky “liberal thinking?” Why does any criticism of this guy get somehow rejected out of hand by people like yourself? Is he god? A leader would be leading on the ground not at 37,000 feet. Is one crummy visit asking too much?
BY the way, I’m certain Robert’s creds as a Conservative outweigh those of any commenter on this blog.
Woo let’s find a way to put the blame on anyone other than the half million people living below water level who would not approve millages to pay for better levee and pump systems, or the additional 1 million in the greater NO area who failed to approve the same.
I have 50 bucks that says the Secret Service told him there was no way they could provide protection in a zone that has had people shooting at rescue choppers. Come on John, this post is beneath you. Engineers have been warning the people of NO since 1969 that without spending money they could not reliably protect against even a Cat3 hurricane, and I did not see Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush the First, or Clinton tossing any FEMA money to fix them.
I bet I can find 50 thousand people that will blame the fact we had a hurricane on Bush, another 50 thousand who think gay people caused it, but that just means there are 100k morons, not that there is any validity to their theories.
How does the president visiting the area help rescue efforts? It takes a lot of time, planning, and resources to have the president fly into and out of a city. Surely these efforts can be put to better use than staging a publicity photo op.
If Bush went to N.O., this guy would be the first person to complain that Bush was getting in the way and that his security requirements were causing a delay that was killing people.
I’ve told you people. There’s no Joshia Bartlett, CJ, Josh, and Toby going to be getting off AF1. This is what we have, this is what most of your fellow countrymen voted for, twice. Could this country be much better prepared for a disaster of this magintude, yes. Could you get any Congress or Administration to set aside the billions in funding for a constant readiness plan, no. Look at your own homes and see how well you’re prepared for a 5 day emergency situation. I’m not defending Bush, but the Universe is a cold unfriendly place, and occasionally it offers up a good butt kicking. I don’t think a 4 of 5 days period to establish command and control is outragous here. There was going to be people that was going to die after the storm no matter what. There’s plenty of time for the post mortem later.
As far as surveying from “high altitude” it has been reported on MSNBC that Air Force One decended to an altitude of only 2500 feet to view the rubble. He will also be there Friday in person, on the ground.
What wrong with you people that think Bush should visit a the area. If Bush goes to mississippi or Louisiana then the police who are stopping the looting or rescueing peple have to then secure the area for Bush. That in it self is nearly impossibe, after that once the president enter the area rescue or feeding or taking care of the survivors would no longer be the priority of the local officals and President Bush’s visit would hamper the efforts of the local officals.
It was very presidental of Bush to fly over and look instead of stopping unlike other presidents.
It’s OK John we forgive you.
You wanted to stop the Bush bashing posts. We understand. It’s just too easy/fun.
James – Typical right wing comments these days – changing the subject – divert attention. Are we really that easily distracted? Never mind the economy – terror, terror, terror, never mind Osama – Saddam, Saddam, Saddam. Never mind weapons of mass distruction………..
The point is that there are not enough resources to help New Orleans – both before and after the hurricane – due to the drain of an unnecessary war. No one really cares that Bush was on a plane, it’s just symbolic of his actions.
My favorite part of the President’s speech this afternoon (watched it live on FOX News) was him saying nothing about conserving fuel, but that those who don’t need gas shouldn’t buy it. Ya really think so, Mr. President? Why shouldn’t I buy something I don’t need?
How about conservation? Didn’t we learn about that in the 1970s? Come on, the simple answer is energy conservation and alternative energy sources, but that would require stiffing the old oil and coal buddies…
Bush is toast. This disaster is bad and it’s going to get much worse. The blame trail leads straight through every decision this president has made, and lands squarely in his lap. Granted, that may not be entirely fair, and there will be plenty of debate about how much blame he really deserves. But that’s the way things work in America. Someone has to be in charge, and this is a screw-up of epic proportions. I have a feeling that the buck passing is going to stop and he is going to be left holding it. This is going to sink his legacy forever.
You can bash the Republicans, the Democrats, and anyone else you want to, but the bottom line is, the people of New Orleans lived in a huge bowl between two bodies of water. The walls that held back the water were old and everyone knew they could be breached by a large storm. Trouble was, no one wanted to think about it.
While I”m sympathetic to the plight of the New Orleans residents, they chose where to live and should have known the risks. And the local government, no matter what political party controlled it, should have been a bit better prepared to deal with this disaster. It had to happen sooner or later. It’s the local government that failed the people of New Orleans, not the folks in Washington.
Access to the city is very limited. Broadcasters with local facilities can’t get back in to try to reactivate them. Gasoline and Diesel fuel to operate the news vehicles and satellite trucks is scarce, and they even placed a no fly zone over the city so even news helicopters can’t fly over.
It’s a helluva mess, and frankly it’s not soley the Federal Government’s responsibility to clean it up. Federal, State, and Local governments have to quit pointing the finger at each other and get to the business of figuring out what to do next.
I can see it now “President walks around New Orleans – for only 10 minutes!” and Liberals rail him for that – damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
OK..I think we should BLAME the real person responsible: CLINTON!
Exactly what did he do about upgrading the city back when? It’s clearly Clinton’s fault.
A reality check here.
The levee weakness has been common knowledge for a long time, and not just in New Orleans. I knew about the problem long before, as it was mentioned by the news media when Ivan (I think) headed that way.
For whatever reason, the Corps of Engineers hasn’t been allocated the money to fix those levees for a long time. Maybe because New Orleans voted blue (I don’t really know whether they did, though), maybe because fixing the levees was just too expensive (most likely).
It’s certainly true that the National Guard units have as their primary mission to keep the peace in their states during times of disaster or insurrection. I say pull the Louisiana and Mississippi (and maybe Alabama) NG units (and their copters and other equipment) from Iraq and put them back to work on their primary mission–rescue and keeping the peace.
Incidentally, Homeland Security seems to have been singularly worthless in this case. Maybe have the baggage maulers (and the rest of the Homeland Security department) do rescue work also. Even if they have no specific rescue skills, they can man soup kitchens.
what einstein had the idea to build a city below sea level, in the mississippi delta on the gulf coast, next to a lake?
The FRENCH!
I blame the French. Damn Creoles.
(There is no food? Let them eat cake!)
It doesn’t matter which side your on Bush had no business going in their. When the hurricanes hit us last year during the election Bush couldn’t visit till the FEMA and the other agencies had some semblance of order or control. I would be more disappointed in the lackluster speeches that he has given over the past couple of days.
I wonder about the assertion that the French are responsible. The old French Quarter is one of the few parts of town built at sea-level. Maybe a local can explain to us what happened. Out West we use land fill for expansion rather than just dike off the area. Less long term maintenance.
I say make the oil companies pay for the whole damn thing… the evacuation, the costs of sheltering those people and the cost of rebuilding– everything. Hell, they’re the only ones in the world with that kind of money at this point. And they could probably do it without going bankrupt the following day because they’ve been raping our pocketbooks since Dubya took office.
The direction of this country was decided on by the greedy and the religious (Republicans), and look at just how wonderful things are today, shall we? Fuel at record prices, thousands dying and millions paying for lies resulting in an unjust and expensive war that can’t be won, a tired and defeated middle class system that IS the majority of America unable to pay for basic living expenses or out-of-control health care costs.
Yep. God bless America, indeed.
As you all know, I despise Bush, but you can’t blame him for the hurricaine.
The lack of resources and the fact 90% of the nat guards in the effected states are in Iraq getting shot at for Sharia – that you can blame him for. Which is the point I took from the article.
All the people flocking to the coastal regions to live doesn’t help either.
I would like to play Psychic for a minute. In three to six months there will be long term interest rates of 10%. Everyone with an ARM will start discovering why it sucks to have an ARM. Gas will be at least 5 to 6 bucks and the stock market will be back at ~7000 to 8000. NASDAC will be at 1100. Iraq will reject the current consitution and we will see a civil war in Iraq that will make our poor troops the only target all three sides will agree on shooting at.
Bush will still not get it and ask for more sacrifices (while Barb and Jenna go on a million dollar shopping spree in a fine Dallas Mall) AND he takes another 5 weeks off – the poor baby.
Simply put: New Orleans is the port city to the most important open waterway in the western hemisphere. (kvetch about the Panama Canal somewhere else) It was most likely settled as the closest practical location to the mouth of the Mississippi, necessary for trade and defense of the river. Ironically, capitalization of the region discourages wholesale engineering efforts to protect it to our current capabilities.
Four years later we haven’t even settled on a design for the two towers site. Good luck finding the leadership to rebuild a city, especially with the upcoming cultural war over what the character of the “resurrected” New Orleans should represent.
Finally, to suggest those remaining got what they deserved ignores the realities of true poverty, which may as well be as distant as the moon for most of us with web access. No wonder we can’t deal with any of our real problems in this country.
Count your blessings, or just buy stock in Vegas and be proud of your “opportunity”.
Exactly why should the taxpayers of California, Ohio, and New York be responsible for building and maintaining the levees for New Orleans? Why should the rest of the country foot the bill for something that is Louisiana’s responsibility? Isn’t it enough that we come to aid of Louisiana after nature has demonstrated the stupidity of the state’s fiscal priorities?
And just how do you transport aid for hundreds of thousands of victims to a region where the entire infrastructure has been destroyed? The state’s emergency planning commission is supposed to have planned and trained for this event. Obviously, they were not prepared. But how is this the fault of Washington?
And why would you want to add the chaos of a presidential visit to this mix?
And yet, the day after the Hurricane hit and the flooding had started, Bush sat there strumming a guitar, and went to San Diego to make a VJ speech. The VP (the man with the actual brain in this administration) was still on Vacation yesterday (Wednesday). The Secretary of State (which should be coordinating foreign aid) went to see a Broadway show last night.
We are at war… what’s this idot doing on vacation for 5 weeks???? Some leadership…
The biggest problem is not that a lot of the National Guard is in Iraq… it’s that all their equipment is over there. The National Guard has been left with nothing useful except empty hands. No generators, no vehicles, missing most of it’s helicopters. Tents anyone? MRE’s? Anything useful left here in the USA?
And now FEMA refuses to help because “it’s too dangerous”. Wow… unbelievable. That decision should have been countermanded within 2 minutes.
And where are Bush’s beloved corporations? All bottled water production should be diverted to the affected zone for a couple of weeks. McDonalds et-all should be having all their stores within 500 miles of the affected area dedicated to cooking for the starving, stop selling to the general public. Walmart and Target and Sears and Kmart should divert all incoming shipments of ‘whatever’ for thenext week straight to the disaster area.
Bush may not be to blame for the flooding, but he sure as heck should be held accountable for the horrible performance of the federal government in the last week. “Impeachable Incompetence” is the right term.
Regardless of political party affiliation, I find it unsettling that the self-stated most powerful country in the world has failed to after five days drop lifesaving food and water to the Superdome or the convention centre.
The hurricane was five days ago. Stll no basic life supplies dropped to relief centres in NO? No leadership on the ground at the identified relief centres.
Incredible mishandling of a crisis situation ultimately resulting in additional loss of life.
Something tells me however, that if we were watching images of white children desparately eyeing cameras or handsome white college kids desparately looking up to the skies for resuce we would see a different picture on our TVs.
But, I’m just a crazy Canadian observing from afar….
I hope arrives soon (most leaders, including ours, have called Bush and asked what we can send, what can we do–doctors? water purifying machinery? etc. So far–he doesn’t need anything, he says.).
Its actually illegal for more than 70% of National Guard to be outside a state at anytime. Also Bush doesn’t need to be going their while people are dying and in despirate need of resucing. The local, state, and federal government have all failed in New Orleans and Bush doesn’t belong in N.O. unless he is airlifting tons of food and water.
Let’s see we have a mess on the ground. Police, National Guard, and regular troops on the ground actually wanting to help people and we want to see the President and all the security stuff that needs to go on be on the ground. Doesn’t make sense to me.
I despise when people use stuff like this to make political hay. W led us through one of the darkest days in this nation’s history. I don’t agree with all he has done and is doing in Iraq and abroad, but the finger pointing is already old. I believe Bush will lead us through yet another dark day and we will come out stronger and more resilient than ever.
“sounds the alarm” hit it right on the head. The article has nothing to do with the hurricane, but everything to do with how it is being dealt with. The bush administration doesn’t give a damn about you or I…its about money. Everyone noticed that the gas prices skyrocketed…however when, and if, they go down it will take months, not minutes, to settle. Why? Becuase its price gauging (sp?). But they’ll get away with it, because they line bush’s pockets. I dont blame the city of new orleans for all of the flooding…that’s what happens when you build a metropolis on a delta. I blame no one for the hurricane. Its a tragic situation and I hope it gets resolved soon. I just hope that none of us will be drafted into this war for profit afterwards…
So I’ll end this by saying FUCK bush! Until you bring our troops back home and repeal this stupid fucking “patriot act”, get bent.
humm, lets see;
100,000 plus survivors (my own guess)
all roads, bridges, railroads destroyed
airports covered in debris (until recently)
80% of the area flooded
only way to get to survivors is by chopper or small boat
gangs and thugs threatening rescue workers
***Not to mention simular damage to two other states***
I say we blame Katrina,and only Katrina
You guys who are doing the political shuffle need to chill out man. I doubt anyone who died gives a flying flip about what Bush did or didn’t do.
And blaming Clinton? You’ve really lost it now.