Of Air Traffic Control And Pilots
It is true that Michael Brown of FEMA, might be a spectacularly poor 'air traffic controller,' as it were. It only fair to investigate and determine his credentials and capabilities as FEMA Director.
That said, there isn't an air traffic controller in the world that can be blamed for the mid air collisions of planes and subsequent wreckage not under his supervision. That NO and LA imploded can in no way be deemed the fault of FEMA.
It was and always has been, FEMA's role to augment local disaster response and relief. It is not FEMA's role to be the first responders to a disaster. That is the purview of the Governor and Mayors of the affected areas. As has been adequately pointed out, NO and LA were monumental failures in the appointed tasks as 'guardians' of the city of NO and the State of LA.
No one should be surprised that if FEMA and the federal government are requested to perform what are the responsibilities of local goverment, it takes them a bit longer to respond. After all, they must reconfigure their mission and plans, to accomodate the realities of their new mission- and the expectation that they must fill in for state and local officials.
With all due respect to His Honor Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco, it is hard to imagine their spectacular ineptitude was transformed into magnificent competence with the arrival of FEMA, federal aid and federal troops. There was a reason LA Senator Mary Landrieu asked Mr Bush for a cabinet level appointee to oversee Katrina relief, to 'go over the heads of local officials,' as he put it. General Honore may be more diplomatic- but it hard to imagine his taking delight in working with the failures that pass as NO and LA public servants.
Notwithstanding the efforts to blur what has happened and what did not happen, it is important to keep the truth in perspective. There are two issues that must be dealt with, seperately.
Firstly, the utter failure of local goverment in providing pre and post disaster relief.
The second issue is the FEMA and federal government response- it's timeliness and effectivness.
As to the first matter, it is pretty clear that NO and LA failed miserably and the consequences were greater than anyone could imagine. It wasn't hard to imagine- the reports of corruption are starting to break the surface. There will be more avenues of investigations be found.
As to FEMA, there is no question that Mr Brown's qualifications will come under scrutiny. That said, the matters that need be assessed concern FEMA's response. Was it timely? Was it efficient? No question these matters will be looked at closely. No doubt that FEMA will be calld upon again. The lessons learned from this disaster should prove to be invaluable.
A fair investigation will take into consideration all the matters we have discussed- the inability of local officials to make good on their obligations and FEMA's stepping into a role they were never intended to fill. In fairness to all parties, the size and scope of the disaster- spread over 90,000 square miles- gives credence to the expression 'Act of God.'
There is one more matter that need be addressed. We touched on it here- and it is a very delicate matter, indeed. Too many people chose to remain in New Orleans, despite the warnings.
That said, there isn't an air traffic controller in the world that can be blamed for the mid air collisions of planes and subsequent wreckage not under his supervision. That NO and LA imploded can in no way be deemed the fault of FEMA.
It was and always has been, FEMA's role to augment local disaster response and relief. It is not FEMA's role to be the first responders to a disaster. That is the purview of the Governor and Mayors of the affected areas. As has been adequately pointed out, NO and LA were monumental failures in the appointed tasks as 'guardians' of the city of NO and the State of LA.
No one should be surprised that if FEMA and the federal government are requested to perform what are the responsibilities of local goverment, it takes them a bit longer to respond. After all, they must reconfigure their mission and plans, to accomodate the realities of their new mission- and the expectation that they must fill in for state and local officials.
With all due respect to His Honor Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco, it is hard to imagine their spectacular ineptitude was transformed into magnificent competence with the arrival of FEMA, federal aid and federal troops. There was a reason LA Senator Mary Landrieu asked Mr Bush for a cabinet level appointee to oversee Katrina relief, to 'go over the heads of local officials,' as he put it. General Honore may be more diplomatic- but it hard to imagine his taking delight in working with the failures that pass as NO and LA public servants.
Notwithstanding the efforts to blur what has happened and what did not happen, it is important to keep the truth in perspective. There are two issues that must be dealt with, seperately.
Firstly, the utter failure of local goverment in providing pre and post disaster relief.
The second issue is the FEMA and federal government response- it's timeliness and effectivness.
As to the first matter, it is pretty clear that NO and LA failed miserably and the consequences were greater than anyone could imagine. It wasn't hard to imagine- the reports of corruption are starting to break the surface. There will be more avenues of investigations be found.
As to FEMA, there is no question that Mr Brown's qualifications will come under scrutiny. That said, the matters that need be assessed concern FEMA's response. Was it timely? Was it efficient? No question these matters will be looked at closely. No doubt that FEMA will be calld upon again. The lessons learned from this disaster should prove to be invaluable.
A fair investigation will take into consideration all the matters we have discussed- the inability of local officials to make good on their obligations and FEMA's stepping into a role they were never intended to fill. In fairness to all parties, the size and scope of the disaster- spread over 90,000 square miles- gives credence to the expression 'Act of God.'
There is one more matter that need be addressed. We touched on it here- and it is a very delicate matter, indeed. Too many people chose to remain in New Orleans, despite the warnings.
It isn't as if New Orleans were a geographically remote location. It isn't as if New Orleans citizens didn't understand the inevitability of a massive storm. On the face of it, New Orleans should have been one of the most disaster prepared cities in the world. Instead, it was one of the most complacent.For those of you that missed it, our entire post can be found here. We will have more to say on the matter.
In fact, preparedness took a back seat to corruption, greed and dirty politics.
The weatherman says a storm is coming? Let's go down to the French Quarter and party! Let's go down to the liquor store and load up- have the neighbors over! This is New Orleans- party time!
There was never a culture of disaster preparedness. If there were, the citizens of New Orleans would have better heeded the warnings. Why were liquor stores allowed to remain open? Why was the French Quarter a hub of hurricane party activity? It was up to the city and state to impress upon people the importance of hurricane preparedness.
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