It would be hard to imagine a more devastatingly clear and
well-documented example of the poor judgement and misplaced
priorities
of the Bush Administration. The project intended to protect New
Orleans from extreme flooding due to a serious hurricane had its
budget cut severely and could not be completed. Why? The money
was
needed for the unprovoked invasion of Iraq, which has cost over $180
bi llion, and tens of thousands of human lives.
The hurricane would still have caused serious destruction, but if the
Corps of Engineers project had been completed, the levees might not
have broken. The loss of life and the extended suffering of survivors
would have been much less, and recovery much quicker. Now, billions
of dollars and months of work will be needed, and the effect on the
economy due to shipping and production delays may be even
higher.
The slow and clumsy response to the Katrina disaster shows that our
government is no better prepared for any emergency than it ever was;
perhaps even less so. It has shown the world that we are vulnerable
to any destructive event, even with days of advance warning. The
first priority for a government is to protect its own citizens, not
to change foreign governments.
Bush should make this lesson an opportunity to admit his errors,
withdraw troops from Iraq without delay, and concentrate on restoring
the Gulf Coast, vastly improving emergency response, and building and
strengthening protection for communities at risk. If our President is
unable or unwilling to do his job, we should insist that he be
replaced.