Three strikes, thousands of Americans dead. Let's get the Bum OUT!

Three Strikes Bush is OUT

The missing component is to PLAN for the worst and be prepared, not get caught with your pants down then trying to make the best of a situation that never should have happen.

This is 9/11 and the post Iraq after Mission Accomplished. Bush ignored the warnings and then claims it wasn't his fault no one warned him. Three strikes thousands of Americans dead. Let get the Bum OUT!

Time will Tell all the Truth VT, Virtual Truth

by VirtualTruth on Wed Aug 31st, 2005 at 23:24:02 EST

 

 I'm getting angrier by the minute

Yet, I'm remaining calm.  Here are some of my observations:

1. Having Navy ships and rescue teams arrive 3-4 days after the initial storm and flooding for search and rescue isn't useless, but it's certainly not the best state of affairs.  We knew if my memory serves me sometime on Saturday that we were looking at possible Cat-5.  That's when the federal government and President Bush should have taken action, knowing that there was a shortage of National Guard because they were in Iraq, for one reason, and the other reason being that this could have been so catastrophic that only immediate, same or next day assistance would have made the best difference between a) saving people's lives; and b) preserving the city of New Orleans.  One of my buddies is a former rescue swimmer for Navy rescue and special forces and if Bush had put out the call on Sunday, I know he would have responded.

2. We don't need to overpromote looting and what not to make up an excuse for meeting the Insurrection Act and thus be able to use active-duty troops in the rescue effort.  Bush should have made the order to prepare active-duty military, in the absence of National Guard, to be ready to go in.  Then you work something out with Congress, even if it's a freak'n bill signed by 25% of them on Monday through teleconference, and you go in there and save people's lives and the city.  If there is some delay, you just send the troops in, save people, and justify it later, blaming it on those Congresspersons who failed to act in the dire hour when the difference between life and death was being decided.

3. As a result of failing on #1 and #2, there is mass confusion in the Gulf Region between interacting leadership entities.  There doesn't seem to be a single person in charge, when this is a national emergency.  We failed to effectively monitor the levees in the immediate aftermath of the storm, failed to in a timely fashion implement emergency efforts to fix the breaches that occurred, and we have failed to devote the manpower to the 3 essential tasks in New Orleans - search and rescue, efforts to fix levees/save the city from flooding, and to maintain order.  If the National Guard had been available and gone in, on the first day, there would not be widespread looting (beyond survival rationing) and roaming bands of thugs (which is probably being exaggerated as a legal justification for sending in active duty troops under the Insurrection Act).

This is an extreme clusterfuck of leadership and crisis management.  For the local and state leaders, it may very well be that they just do not have the resources or the line of command between each other to have done any better.  Any inkling that this was the case, with so much at stake, should have been picked up by national leaders, especially Bush, who should have been inordinately interested in this and monitoring it.  After this had been picked up, that there was a crucial lack of resources and an unclear line of command, Bush should have stepped in and declared a national emergency.  If the best case scenario had occurred, he would have had to do relatively nothing but pay attention and not allow the situation to get out of hand.

The situation is out of hand, and having military support, search and rescue come 4 days after the worst of the disaster just isn't good enough.

free the information

by freelixir on Wed Aug 31st, 2005 at 23:44:43 EST

 

If people only knew the facts, they would not be fighting for the 'RIGHT' to be screwed over.

+ $1,751,132,130,359 Social Security Trust Fund
– $7,805,708,317,936 The Gross National Debt

Time will tell all the Truth.
VT

Sean Lewis/VirtualTruth/VT

Founder
OpenDebateForum
http://VTSL.blogspot.com


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