BCT Editorial – 3/7/06

This page was last updated on March 7, 2006.

A matter of timing; Editorial; Beaver County Times; March 7, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“As Katrina allegations fly, the real problem is being overlooked

“The finger pointing in regard to the pre-Katrina failures of local, state and federal officials has reached the ‘what did they know and when did they know it’ stage.

“It seems not a day goes by without a video or e-mail of some official at some governmental level popping up that shows they were informed about the potential enormity of Hurricane Katrina and didn’t heeding the warnings.

“But the problem with focusing on the pre-Katrina gotcha game is that it deflects the focus away from the real scandal - the post-Katrina failures of government agencies and officials, especially at the federal level. (State and local governments do not have the resources to handle a Katrina-size disaster. Only the federal government does.)”

[RWC] Translation: “The record is increasingly showing the Democrat controlled local and state governments dropped the ball when it came to heeding warnings from the feds and following through on their own plans, so we need to change the action line.”

The last sentence is BS. Both Louisiana and New Orleans had plans and resources to deal with a hurricane the size of Katrina. They simply failed to follow their own plans to get their people out of harm’s way.

“Does it really matter right now who blew it and at what level in regard to pre-Katrina preparations? The sheer scope of Katrina’s devastating power was something that many public officials and people in general could not comprehend beforehand. You literally had to see the destruction to believe it.”

[RWC] Yes it does matter. The better job you do before a disaster hits, the less you need to do after. For example, if New Orleans had followed its own plans, there would have been no one at the Superdome or the Convention Center. Post disaster plans assume people did what they were supposed to do before the disaster.

“What matters most is that post-Katrina there was a total meltdown in local, state and federal responses. Even though the destruction Katrina could cause was beyond the scope the human mind could grasp before the hurricane hit, there can be no excuse for the total incompetence on the part of government agencies afterward.”

[RWC] Let’s remember Louisiana’s Department of Homeland Security was the organization that turned back supplies headed to the Superdome and Convention Center because it didn’t want people to stay at those locations.

“As a result of their failures, tens of thousands of Mississippi and Louisiana residents were left in the lurch and, six months after Katrina slammed them, they are still struggling with the aftermath.

“The whole situation is a replay of the invasion of Iraq. A whole lot of time and energy is being expended on the interpretation of WMD intelligence information by the Bush White House. The president and his defenders have been able to neutralize that to some degree by pointing out that others, including the Clinton White House, believed the Iraqi dictator had these weapons.”

[RWC] I got a copy of the editorial’s first draft, and the previous sentence originally concluded with “, damn it.” <g>

“But what is being glossed over is the administration’s total mishandling of the post-invasion occupation. Of that there is no doubt. Because of this administration’s gross incompetence, that’s when most of American deaths have occurred. Because of this administration’s hubris, that’s when thousands of American military personnel have been crippled and wounded. Because of this administration’s failure to plan properly, a first-class military organization is being ground down.”

[RWC] The author would have us believe war operations can be conducted like an episode of “Mission: Impossible.” Note the author also blames the Bush administration for our casualties, not the terrorists.

Regarding the “a first-class military organization is being ground down” comment, let’s look at the facts. Over a period of nearly three years (as of 3/7/06), there were 2,302 fatalities (1,801 killed in action) and 7,859 wounded who did not return to duty within 72 hours. Keep in mind the size of our active duty military force is about 1.4 million. While I hate to see even one person lose their life or become disabled due to war, I don’t know how these casualty numbers out of 1.4 million translate to “being ground down.” Further, if this were the case, why are our military personnel re-enlisting?

For historical perspective, consider the following. Over 700 sailors and soldiers died during one dress rehearsal for D-Day. Estimates for U.S. fatalities on D-Day itself are generally reported as being from 2,000 to 3,000.

“Because people’s lives are at stake, in Iraq and the Gulf Coast, what’s important at the moment is to fix what is broken. Once that takes place, there will be plenty of time to play political gotcha.”

[RWC] I’ll repeat myself. The only reason the Times claims it no longer wants “to play political gotcha” is because the evidence is mounting against the paper’s political fellow travelers. If the recent video had shown President Bush has been warned about possible levee breaches as the AP claimed, you can bet the editorial would have taken a different position. If you recall, the AP had to retract its story that President Bush had been warned about levee breaches. To make things worse for the Times, Louisiana Gov. was caught on tape admitting she waited too long to call up the National Guard and claiming the levees had not been breached after they had been.