Haven't Criticized Officials until now!

[jasons2k]

OK, I have held my tongue on all operations related to rescue/recovery, etc. and getting control of the city. I read all the threads/debates about this yesterday and my general thought was with a disaster of this magnitude, it was just too much to handle, no matter how well it could have been planned.

But now I'm really starting to get upset. First of all, this hurricane could not have been any better predicted. The NHC did a most outstanding job. The sad thing is that our federal gov't didn't seem to take the advice of another federal agency (the NHC). It seems like it wasn't until yesterday they "woke up" and really made this a federal effort.

The NOLA mayor said yesterday "nobody could have predicted this". I disagree completely. I read an article posted in a thread (Maybe on Tuesday) written by some emergency planning official that almost detailed TO THE TEE the impact of a major hurricane in NOLA, including all the flooding, failure of utilities, inability to rescue people, etc. The whole thing read like a Katrina summary before the fact!! The city, state, and federal leadership had AMPLE warning about the worst-case scenario.

Anyone who has ever taken a basic sociology or psychology course knows that as soon as you remove the comforts of modern life (food, water, plumbing, power, etc.) people revert to their natural instincts for survival. Remember all the dire predictions of street gangs after Y2K if we lost the power grid? Well now we are seeing that. I saw it coming DAYS AGO and this discipline is far from my area of expertise.

NOLA already was already one of the most violent cities out there. Several years it has the nation's #1 murder rate. This spiral into anarchy should have been forseen. There should have been troops sent in long ago. This should be a full scale military operation.

For the first time, I feel like our government, especially on a federal level, has failed us. If there was a contingency plan in place for such a disaster, this is sure not being run according to it. The lack of communication, conflitring stories, comments from the mayor like 'there are too many cooks in the kitchen' etc. illustrate that.

The situation has descended into hell. People died last night b/c the NOLA police had to suspend all rescue operations to deal with the looters. They're now shooting at helicoptors. Fires are buring. Whole police precincts - those that are left - are under seige. If they don't get a handle on this NOW I'm very afraid what's left of NOLA will burn to the ground and many more thousands will die, all due to a non-existent disaster plan.

This is in no way directed to the emergency workers on the ground. They are doing an INCREDIBLE job with what they have. But the leadership needs to step up to the plate NOW.

[JenBayles]

Shoulda woulda coulda..... not much to do now but clean up as best we can. Finger pointing and playing the blame game isn't really construction at this time. I'm as frustrated with the images I see on TV as the next person, but I'm also trying to remember everyone's flying by the seat of their pants right now.

[Persepone]

There has been a distinct lack of leadership in this disaster.

I don't like his politics, but NOLA could have used a Mayor like Rudy Giuliani.

The state could have used a Governor who took charge of the situation early and asked for necessary help immediately.

It should not have taken President Bush until yesterday to speak to America! He was not without power, communications, etc.

I'm disgusted with the lack of leadership and the delays that resulted not from "logistics" and not from a dearth of people trained, able, willing and staged ready to help--but from ineffective leadership...

[Miss Mary]

There has been a distinct lack of leadership in this disaster.

I don't like his politics, but NOLA could have used a Mayor like Rudy Giuliani.

The state could have used a Governor who took charge of the situation early and asked for necessary help immediately.

It should not have taken President Bush until yesterday to speak to America! He was not without power, communications, etc.

I'm disgusted with the lack of leadership and the delays that resulted not from "logistics" and not from a dearth of people trained, able, willing and staged ready to help--but from ineffective leadership...

Daria, once again we think alike....see my reply on the President Bush thread.......

Sing it now, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!

[Air Force Met]

There has been a distinct lack of leadership in this disaster.

I don't like his politics, but NOLA could have used a Mayor like Rudy Giuliani.

The state could have used a Governor who took charge of the situation early and asked for necessary help immediately.

It should not have taken President Bush until yesterday to speak to America! He was not without power, communications, etc.

I'm disgusted with the lack of leadership and the delays that resulted not from "logistics" and not from a dearth of people trained, able, willing and staged ready to help--but from ineffective leadership...

He spoke on MOnday as well...it wasn't covered. I did hear him speak. Totally agree with the Governor and local authorities. A lot of this blame falls directly on them (after you blame the people that refused to leave...not those that couldn't...but those that wouldn't). The fact they were telling their people on Friday...no need to evacuate is criminal.

Looks like I will be headed to NOLA or Gulfport in the next few days. Here is an email I got from HQ:

"...to provide airfield support to every platform under the sun.

Personnel/Units would need to be pretty much self-sufficient. You may also want to contact your State Joint Ops Cell or EOC to find out what's needed. There are hundreds of aircraft that are already there and more are converging. Currently there is limited ATC functionality and no weather in place. Some sensors are working, some aren't."


Sounds like a LOAD of fun...!

[TexasLady]

I cannot for the life of me understand how this got so out of hand, so quickly. The warnings be it "hurricane", "doomsday scenario", or whatever have been in place. How can there not have been a plan, be it good or bad, to be initiated at the first rainshower? I know the devastation that has occurred naturally brings a level of chaos. However, this is not the first disaster to occur in this country. I can't remember hearing about this level of barbarianism happening in other situations. My God, Florida endured 3 bad hurricanes last year! Look at the earthquake in San Francisco... I'm seriously hoping that the shelter communities take the bull by the horns and let it be known that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. The police authorities in the shelter areas ARE able to get to the locations, and ARE willing and able to handle the situation with whatever force needed. It is so unimaginably sad that people who need help, and the people that are trying so hard to give it are at the mercy of a few uncivilized thugs.

[JenBayles]

Keep us posted AirForce. Bless you.