American Politics during the Bush Presidency

[Thomaso276]

I do not disagree, but am pointing out that responsibility for these natural disasters start at the local and state level - that is clearly outlined in all emergency mgt. Plans. The federal government is not initially in charge of natural disasters. On the other hand there are many reports about FEMA being chopped up since being taken over by Homeland Security. My experience was before the takeover, so they may be less effective.

For example, in Florida (and most States are the same) the County Manager has to declare a disaster area for his county after conferring with the policy group of mayors, emergency manager, etc. Cities do not declare but provide input) the state (via the Governor) then authorizes state resources - such as state Emergency Operation Centers, State National Guard, State troopers, etc. With large hurricanes looming, they are usually warmed up and ready to be notified and immediately go into action. Then the State petitions the Federal Gov't. FEMA is also warmed up and ready to go. This can all be done quickly, but each level must fulfill it's obligation. As another example, the Red Cross is in charge of all shelters and charged with ensuring they are up to par. The Federal Gov't is not in charge of these concerns. The Sheriff's Office is supposed to handle security at shelters. Shelters of last resort have no standards. Shelters of last resort are completely unreliable. They are a lifeboat, not a cruise ship. My impression was that New Orleans used only shelters of last resort because people did not leave.

Each community has to determine how long it would take to evacuate their city. In my city and county it was about 12 hours (it was done many times) so a 24 hour hurricane warning still left time. If New Orleans was 48 hours for evacuation, then they have to start their warnings earlier. If you leave too late and are sitting stuck in traffic on a highway when the storm hits, your shelter of last resort is your car!

You may have noticed that the storm veered off at the last minute. Hurricanes are unpredictable up until 12-24 hours before landfall. Last year in Florida many emergency workers (power company trucks, tree trimmers, etc) were staged in Sarasota becasue one of the storms was going to hit Tampa the next day. Guess what? The storm veered and hit Sarasota locking in alot of emergncy repsonse people. Things go wrong, but people got out of the way and saved their lives. Over 200,000 people in New Orleans ignored or could not comply with evacuation. That is why this is such a disaster.

The Federal government does not identify shelters, verify code of shelters, put up signs on roads so folks know how to get out or how to get to a shelter of special needs, or manage shelters. Most shelters are schools, run by local school boards and under the State budget for education. I do not know of any Federal High Schools. This is a state and local responsibility.

If the local and state level dropped the ball (and judging by news accounts I believe they did) and performed poorly then the Feds are trying to play catch up. I'll guarantee you many elected officials and personnel from the affected areas attended Hurricane Planning and Mitigation two week courses at FEMA in Maryland. If you pay attention and learn the experience is invaluable, if you blow it off as just another conference you lose.

The training I attended was so intense some participants started crying! There is a two day real time hurricane disaster with fully operational centers, scenerios, phones, etc.

The state and local level also plans and trains for terrorist attacks but that is a federal issue - an act of war against the USA. Governors don't declare war. Just compare the performance of Guilliani to the Mayor of New Orleans or Pataki to the Governor of Louisiana. I saw the press conference this morning where the Dem. Governor had hired a retired expert (from FEMA? To advise her. Doesn't she have someone on staff being paid for this now? Oh yeah - here is info from their webpage:

"Since 1990, LHLS & EP has been under the leadership of two Directors, Major General Ansel M. Stroud and Major General Bennett C. Landreneau." And their last line: "The LHLS & EP staff in Baton Rouge is small when compared to other states, but remains poised and ready to serve the people of Louisiana at a moments notice."

I am not saying there isn't plenty of blame for this, but to single out Bush and the Feds is not fair because they do not run the City of New Orleans or the the State of Louisiana. They cannot respond until they are asked. If nobody asked until it was well into the disaster then the local officials are just covering their asses.

I noted there are some news bits about the La. Governor not wanting to give up control of law enforcement to the Feds. If the Feds are asking it is not because they want more responsibility (believe me nobody wants more responsibility during disasters there is plenty of work to be done) it is because they have no faith in the ability of the State to handle this crisis and decided if it wasn't being done correctly they had to take it over.

Finally if you were told that there would be a 80% chance of a train wreck on Sunday afternoon from the Retiro Station, would you get on a train to go to a BBQ at the Mansion. Would you get on the train without some first aid supplies, food, water and medicine if you were told there would be no guaranteed emergency response for up to 72 hours after the accident? There is little or no help available for up to 72 hours after a major hurricane hits. People have to plan for these events. This fact cannot be changed.

[Stormy]

"Or is it just stunning incompetence and lack of foresight?" SteveC said. Yes, it is stunning incompetence and lack of foresight straight from the hands of a pack of ideological hacks. Well said, thank you, SteveC.

[SteveC]

Thought I'd join the debate started by Thomaso276. (contains some unattributed press quotes)

First, an administration that since Sept. 11, 2001, has told us a major terrorist strike is inevitable, should have had in place a well-elaborated plan for evacuating a major American city. Even if there wasn't a specific plan for New Orleans -- although it was clear that a breach of the city's levees was one of the likeliest natural catastrophes -- there should have been a generic plan. George W. Bush said time and again that American cities were threatened. Shouldn't he have ordered up a plan to get people out?

Someone should have thought about what to do with hundreds of thousands of evacuees, both in the days after a disaster and in the long term. Does the White House really believe that primary responsibility should fall on volunteers, church groups and individuals? Or is it just stunning incompetence and lack of foresight?

How could the government have been so unready for a crisis that was so widely predicted? It is simply not true, as Mr. Bush has said, that nobody 'anticipated the breach of the levees.' In fact, experts inside and outside of government have issued repeated warnings for years about the city's unique topography and vulnerability, and those warnings were loudly and prominently echoed by the media both nationally and in Louisiana. For example see John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein's award winning 5 part report from June 2002 http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/ in the Times-Picayune.

No-one can say this government shouldn't have known of the inevitability of this disaster unless drastic steps (I. E. Spending public money) were made.

So America, once famous for its can-do attitude, now has a can't-do government that makes excuses instead of doing its job. And while it makes those excuses, Americans are dying. I remember Bush's claim in the election campaign against Gore in 2000. Not the exact words, but he said something like "I'm a can-do guy, I've got the experience from being governor of Texas". Maybe these days the holidays take precedence over the doing.

At a fundamental level, I'd argue, America's current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on preventive measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice.

[Thomaso276]

I thought I would chime in as long as this thread brought up the subject of the criticism being heaped upon Bush and FEMA after Katrina. I have some experience with emergency management - hurricanes - in Florida.

First of all, this storm was the nightmare scenerio and as such, would strain and break any resources available. Here are the problems as I see them:

Lack of leadership. CNN and the media constantly criticizes Bush but the key roles for these disasters fall first on the Mayors of cities affected, then on Governors of the States. FEMA and the Federal Gov't are support systems meant to augment and supplement those local officials in charge. The local officials have failed. Local personnel have failed (see reports about 4-500 Police walking off the job, that is 1/3 of the Department) The city, understandably, has been destroyed from within and emergency response personnel suffer from the same problems as those caught in the disaster. The Mayor and Governors have been woefully inadequate in their preparation and after actions of this storm. That is not Bush's fault.

Community response. Hurricanes do not happen within minutes. People have several days of warnings and are given time to evacuate. When tens of thousands did not leave, they created a nightmare scenerio and were forced to use the "shelters of last resort" approach. Disaster plans account for these shelters. The Superdome was the best example, however, overpasses, highways and attics are also in this category. You see, once the storm hits and people realize it is dangerous, they cannot get to another state or city. They crawl into attics or trek to high ground highways just to survive.

Community Planning. I have read about and understand the economic issues regarding those who did not leave. It is understandable that many did not have the money for evacuation. However, all hurricane planning advises that for the first 72 hours after a storm people need to make sure they can survive on their own. This means water, medicines, food and any other necessities that they as individuals need. Within minutes of the storm passing, people were clamoring for these basic items and wondering why the Feds were not delivering these things immediately. I am afraid that the citizens of New Orleans did little or nothing to prepare for this storm and the aftermath.

Security issues. The CNN feeds have downplayed the violence that sprung up after the storm. Put yourself in the place of the firemen, rescue and police personnel. You enter an area to help and someone starts shooting at you. How many times are you going to go back in to this environment? Looters and roving gangs are not there to help others. When people decide to stay in the areas they complicate efforts to mitigate the storms.

This is a disaster of immense proportions and many factors had to line up for it to happen. The newspaper reports of using New Orleans as the nightmare scenerio for FEMA training are accurate. The city was always considered a potential disaster becasue of the levy problems and below sea-level location. While many are blaming Bush, neither he nor the Feds have pointed out where the real fault lies: the Government and community of New Orleans failed in protecting their community and educating their citizens on how to prepare and respond to hurricanes.

That said, I do feel terrible for those poor people who have lost everything. Please see various internet pages on how to donate and help (Red Cross is the best for your donations as they are charged with managing shelters during any emergency)