Bush to New Orleans: Who Knew?
By Keith Boykin, in politics
Sunday, September 4 2005, 2:36PM
There he goes again. President Bush said this week that no one could have predicted the disaster in New Orleans. "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," the president said on Thursday. But as several websites have reported, that's just not true.
"New Orleans ... may be America's most architecturally distinctive and culturally rich city. But it is also a disaster waiting to happen. New Orleans is the only major American city below sea level, and it is wedged between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi. If a bad hurricane hit, experts say, the city could fill up like a cereal bowl, killing tens of thousands and laying waste to the city's architectural heritage. If the Big One hit, New Orleans could disappear."
-- New York Times report, Aug. 11, 2002
"Officials have warned that if a major hurricane hits New Orleans, thousands of people could be killed and the city could be flooded for weeks as flood waters breach the levees ringing the city, which has the topography of a saucer that dips several feet below sea level in many places."
-- Associated Press report, May 16, 2004
"For the first time in 37 years, federal budget cuts have all but stopped major work on the New Orleans area's east bank hurricane levees."
-- New Orleans Times-Picayune, Jun. 8, 2004
"When levees are below grade, as ours are in many spots right now, they're more vulnerable to waves pouring over them and degrading them."
-- Army Corps of Engineers senior project manager, Jun. 8, 2004
"It appears that the money [for hurricane-protection efforts] has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. ... Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."
-- J.P. emergency management chief Walter Maestri, Jun. 8, 2004
"Should this disaster become a reality, it would undoubtedly be one of the greatest disasters, if not the greatest, to hit the United States, with estimated costs exceeding 100 billion dollars. According to the Red Cross, such an event could be even more devastating than a major earthquake in California. Survivors would have to endure conditions never before experienced in a North American disaster."
--Shirley Laska, Center for Hazards Assessment, University of New Orleans, after predicting that a major hurricane would cause the levees to break
"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
-- President George Bush, Sep. 1, 2005, "Good Morning America"
Sources
- Media Matters: NY Times reprinted without contradiction Bush's false claim
- Black Press: New Orleans a disaster waiting to happen
Comments conceal
Kenneth Winfrey
September 4 2005, 5:15PM
A documentary narrated by Harry Connick, Jr. shown by either the National Geographic Channel or the Discovery Channel last year also discussed the effect of manmade changes to the wetlands at the delta. I can't find specific information on the program, but I think I remember the gist of it.
If memory serves, it discussed how the shallow wetlands contained vegetation that held the delta soil together. This soil could absorb phenomenal amounts of water. It was stated that these wetlands, left shallow and unaltered, could reduce the effect of a hurricane by up to two category points. If a category 5 storm approached the area, it would have only the effect of a category 3. It's simple enough: Shallow bodies of water can't feed a storm the way deeper ones can.
Environmentalists had long noticed the modifications made to the wetlands by industry that needed deeper tributaries for the passage of larger and larger ships. They had warned that such destruction might occur without the protection of the natural tundra. These warnings went unheeded because natural changes in the area were actually causing these useable shipping passages to move far from the established ports, miles by some estimates.
The choice, as portrayed in this film, was to allow either nature to slowly destroy the regional economy, or for humans to more quickly make it unnatural and unsafe. I don't think the documentary included anything about neglecting levee projects though. If they were under-funded beginning last year, probably not. I'm not surprised because the Department of Homeland Security and the war machine have absorbed resources from just about every other department of government to pay for the war on terror. The Army Corp of Engineer projects probably took a big hit because the general public is not always aware (or clearly appreciative) of these larger scale public works projects as they take more time than the attention span most of us have. They're not always good for politics and don't make the most interesting news stories until they are finished and have proven themselves because they generally take more time than many politicians even have in office.
My details may be sketchy, but the point is that it was another instance in which questions were raised about the fate of the areas wetlands and the city in the case of a major hurricane.
Michael
September 4 2005, 5:22PM
Get Bush and the rest of them Keith.
Bernie
September 4 2005, 6:09PM
Now Keith! Do you really expect the President of the United States to read some silly engineering reports? To actually hold meetings with experts? To actully bone up on any subject he might face while in office?
Geez, he's got five weeks of vacations to fit into his schedule!
And then there's that war against "turr-rrer-ism."
Paul
September 4 2005, 10:05PM
Think about the entire scenario everyone. Stop and remember. Where have you heard all this rhetoric, all this bewilderment, all this shock, all this "what are you talking about" type of response? Think. Do you remember? That's right- September 11.
Everyone was surprised, everyone was asleep, remember Condelisa Rice's comments - '..no one ever thought that someone would have flown a plane in a building..."
Its all about America falling asleep AGAIN and being hit when they least expect it. The only difference is this time they saw it coming!!! A hurricane is just that - a hurricane. American thought and resolve that a hurricane has always been a Caribbean thing- these things will never touch the great USA !!! Well since mother nature knows no color, or race, or wealth she has hit the coast of Florida last year 4 times in less than a month. America's attitude changed but this time it is a FLORIDA thing.
All the powers that be were watching and hoping that the system would have hit Florida's pan handle and the poor people in Florida would have been all ready. But mother nature knows no boundary. The size and force of the system told everyone it was no fun and games!
The system came and hit America and everyone sat down and said.."what happened?" Did we just get hit?" All the major players were either preoccupied with something very important or was just too stuned and shocked at what had happened.
The same thing for 911. The Commission's report showed above everything else the great America was not ready and caught with her pants down. 4 years later she is once again caught in the same trap. 2 strikes. The third one , whatever that may be, will be just as chaotic.
America is safer. I have heard that phrase so often it has become a rallying cry. But it reminds me of what John Edwards was talking about -Which America? There are 2 America- the one where those that live with lots of money , live freely and their problems stem from what am I going to wear to this party. And there is another America that speaks of real issues, real poverty, real struggles, real problems. Now I ask you - which one is safer? Which America is safer?
The entire world is watching this mele with great sympathy for the people who are homeless and also watching a set of people that has once again bought every word from their government, a government that accepts no responsibility and has litte regard for the real America. The real America- those that loose their home, those that fight a struggle everyday to make ends meet, those that go to war and are sent back either missing a limb or in a coffin. That's the America that the President and all those who are in control have never had any reason to listen to, care for or concerned about except every 4 years. They need their votes then. Lets show some compassionate conservatism. Wow, "compassionate conservatism". Now what type of "Bushism' is that?
jay
September 6 2005, 3:33PM
i remember watching the program on a hurrican hitting N.O. on the Discovery channel.
it totally makes sense that the president would say something so absurd. did you expect anything more from this president? hopefully now, those who have had the wool pulled over thier eyes, will be able to see that our president is not fit to be! lack of leadership coupled with a vision that is just bad for our country.
EG
September 6 2005, 11:10PM
Yea, everything reported on other websites are true.