Quote:
Originally posted by legion
Don't stories of National Guard troops (under the control of the governor) and police officers (under the control of the mayor) point to a lack of appropriate orders coming from the governor and mayor?
During 9/11 in New York, no one doubted or questioned that Rudy was in charge. He put the police in the right spots, he gave the appropriate orders, and despite a horrible tragedy, law and order remained intact.
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Good points, legion. By the time the feds came into NYC on 9/11, Rudy had the situation under control. Granted, it was a vastly different type of disaster and it was contained in a much smaller area. But as soon as the tragedy occurred, the mayor of NYC had sprung into action and got the ball rolling. I don't think the same thing happened in NO.
I wonder if the mayor of NO will also step up to the plate and share some of the burden of responsibility.
While the government on ALL levels could have handled this disaster better, I firmly believe that it is the LOCAL government that needs the most involvement, organization and responsibility in such crisis. Thus, I feel that they are to blame the most for the lack of direction and organization.
Don't get me wrong - the feds need to be there with their infrastructure (money, supplies...etc), but the local government should be able to act quicker and be more accurate in their assessment of the situation.
For example: the local NO government should have used the school buses to help evacuate those who could not leave NO on their own. Food and other supplies should have been made ready. The local NO government should have had contingency plans in place in case any of the levees were compromised. LOCAL government dropped the ball first and foremost, IMHO.
-Z-man.