Less than a month after the response to Hurrican Katrina became the biggest embarrasment this country has seen in decades, we're witnessing further proof of this administration's continuing inability, or more likely unwillingness, to address our capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters.
Remember that one of the reasons we went to war in Iraq was because we feared chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons being unleashed on one of our cities.
Rita has been a relatively slow moving storm which has provided ample time for an orderly evacuation. However, the evacuation has been a farce and we're witnessing gas shortages, stranded motorists, and gridlock for hundreds of miles. Imagine if this had been a chemical or biological attack. There would have been chaos and mass panic which would have infinitely worsened what we're seeing now.
Rita storm provided us with a unique opportunity to conduct a real-time test evacuation of a major metropolitan area and we failed miserably. I would have thought the images of New Orleans would have shocked the administration into real disaster planning. Is it going to take thousands stranded on the highways when the storm hits to grab the President's attention?
