This is perhaps the most important point about the whole handling of the NOLA disaster. The Department of Homeland Security has been bopping along for about four years, handing out color coded charts, telling us to beware of people in bulky jackets, vagrants, democrats and other subversives. And we all laughed at them.
But in our heart of hearts, we all felt sort of relieved. Yeah, sure they were willing to jack up he terror alert whenever Bush opinion polls showed a dip. Yeah, we knew that it was primarily being used as a tool to suppress dissent. Yeah, it became the butt of our jokes. But at least we knew that if the shit hit the fan, that there was an organization that would handle it.
The DHS would be evaluating information. They would be looking for weaknesses in our security. And they would plan and prepare for disaster scenarios. They would coordinate with police and fire departments. They would share information with FEMA and the National Guard. They would know what to do if God forbid something terrible happened.
We knew that somewhere in their locked filing cabinets there was a plan in place for if someone set off a dirty bomb in Manhattan. They were preparing for a major California earthquake. They were preparing for the worst. We could rest easy knowing that they could dust off those plans at a moments notice and send it troops, workers, medics, equipment, whatever. Sure we might not like the tactics they might use in those situations (suspension of civil rights, marshal law, etc.) but there were people who would try to keep us safe.
And now one of those disasters has happened. A Category 5 hurricane slams Louisiana. Levees have burst. Power is out. Tens of thousands are trapped without food or water. Lawlessness is rampant. Fires burn unchecked. It was a catastrophe that had been anticipated for years. Now was the time for our righteous protectors to swing into action. The DHS would put their contingency plans into effect, order would be restored, civilians would be evacuated, wounded would be treated, and we could all begin to rebuild.
And the Department of Homeland Security had nothing.
No great plans. No coordinated efforts. Not enough emergency supplies and no way to deliver them. So much confusion and disorder that help and assistance was being turned away. Thousands told to go to evacuation areas that no officials knew about. National Guard units sitting around waiting to be told where to go and what to do. A catastrophe of mismanagement.
We have allowed the Bush administration to take away our freedoms and liberties so they could keep us safe. Now we find out that they can't even do that.