In my opinion, hardly based on anything political, (except the continued
history of government's benign neglect) but personal observation and
recognition of instances where "official" neglect and policy has cost
millions of lives - this article holds an element of common sense, yet - if
the financial resources were allocated toward prevention, this disaster
could not have been significantly diminished.
OriginalArrivalTime: 02 Sep 2005 05:28:45.0727 (UTC)
FILETIME=[306092F0:01C5AF7F]
From the Guardian -Katrina comes home to roost
President Bush is to blame for the scale of the disaster as a result of his
administration's policies and actions
Sidney Blumenthal
Friday September 2, 2005
The Guardian
>
>Biblical in its uncontrolled rage and scope, the storm has left millions of
>Americans to scavenge for food and shelter, and hundreds reportedly dead.
>With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become
>part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina may
>not entirely be the result of an act of nature.
>
>A year ago the US army corps of engineers proposed to study how New Orleans
>could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush
>administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. After a flood
>killed six people in 1995, the Congress created the Southeast Louisiana
>Urban Flood Control Project. Operated by the corps of engineers, levees and
>pumping stations were strengthened and renovated. In 2001, when George Bush
>became president, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report
>stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most
>likely potential disasters - after a terrorist attack on New York City. But
>by 2003 the federal funding essentially dried up as it was drained into the
>Iraq war. By 2004, the Bush administration cut the corps of engineers'
>request for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80%.
>By the beginning of this year, the administration's additional cuts,
>reduced
>by 44% since 2001, forced the corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate
>debated adding funds for fixing levees, but it was too late.
>
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1561356,00.html
>
>
>Alison Croggon
>
>Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
>Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
>Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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