Bush Made Things Worse in New Orleans

September 1, 2005

The Federal Emergency Management said in 2001 that a direct strike by a hurricane on New Orleans would be catastrophic and likely. Certainly a government understatement. Then, in 2003, funds for the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was to upgrade levies and pumps stopped.  Incredibly, in 2004, Bush cut the New Orleans Flood Control funding to help pay for the Iraq War.  This prevented the US Army Corps of Engineers from studying and then designing a way to protect New Orleans from a catastrophic hurricane like Katrina.

Before the Republican Congress left for their summer vacations this year, like their leader Bush, they had debated putting back money for levees. No decision then and now it is late.

To make matters worse, the Bush administration went back on its word to do what Clinton and Bush senior did, that is to insure that wetlands in the New Orleans area are maintained and protected from developers. Both the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US EPA were no longer permitted to protect wetlands or acquire more to protect.  This reverse in policy took place in 2003 and developers immediately went about to get as much land they could knowing they had the support of Bush and the Republicans.

Wetlands are critical in preventing flooding by reducing disastrous storm surges. For example, 2-3 miles of wetlands between the sea and a city can reduce storm surge by a foot. A simple concept to grasp but not for Bush. Though Bush said his policies would be "science based" but this has not been the case. It is a lie, like the lies used to garner public support for Iraq. Science was ignored and budgets cut.

Now that a disaster has happened in and near New Orleans, all Bush has to say he is aware of the situation and help is one the way. Two days later there is anarchy in New Orleans, looting, shooting, assaults and babies dying.

FEMA has been slow to act; they simply are not doing their job. The New Orleans Emergency center chief, Terry Ebbert, said today that FEMA has yet to provide meaningful help and they have yet to establish a command and control. He said he has yet to see a “FEMA guy”. Incredible.

Everyone knew days beforehand that a big storm was on its way and still, there was no preplanning by the Feds. Preplanning means pre-positioning water, food, medical supplies, generators and sandbags. It also means activating National Guard and sending soldiers to nearby locations so they can immediately keep order after the storm passes.

Again lack of pre-planning by the Bush Administration has cost the lives of hundreds of Americans. The Federal response to the chaos in the Gulf Area is a scandal. Bush's handling of this is a disgrace.

More troublesome is that the Administration is incapable of modifying their behavior based on experiences.

Learning from mistakes keeps us civilized. There is no civility in the Gulf, at least not yet, and there is definitely none in Washington, D.C. towards citizens they swore to protect.