Nov 19 2009
Clinton Responsible For Katrina Damage?
The truth sometimes takes years to come out, but the verdict (literally) is in on the Katrina disaster and one of those convicted was the US Army Corps of Engineers:
The failure of the Corps to recognize the destruction that the MRGO had caused and the potential hazard that it created is clearly negligent on the part of the Corps,” said U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. in his ruling. “Furthermore, the Corps not only knew, but admitted by 1988, that the MRGO threatened human life … and yet it did not act in time to prevent the catastrophic disaster that ensued with the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina.”
MRGO is the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and is the part of the damn system that broke under Katrina’s rains and destroyed New Orleans. If not for that breach I would suspect New Orleans would not have been so devastated.
But more importantly is the fact the danger was identified in 1988. It seems our ‘first black’ President Clinton was negligent in addressing the problem (as were other Presidents). The truth is Clinton was as responsible as Bush was – as in not at all. It was the Corps’ responsibility to prioritize their activities and make sure this situation was addressed to save lives. Clearly they failed to do so in time to advert massive loss of life and property.
Katrina was a historic storm which wiped the Gulf Coast directly in its path bare of most human structures. There was no amount of preparing that can handle this kind of devastation  – along with state and local leaders who refuse to evacuate their people or allow recovery people into the damaged area. The severe incompetence was definitely tilted towards the Democrats in Louisiana than anywhere else.
I seem to remember reading articles long ago that Federal funds sent to New Orleans for projects like this (damn reinforcement/maintenance) were diverted by the local government and used to money making projects lik casinos, hotels, etc instead. They may need to follow the money to get the whole story.
And AJ it is this same tilted thinking that we can control mother nature that has led the climate change debate. Liberals can’t fathom that they are not that important in the grand scheme of things—-they are just as human as the rest of us, which irks them to the point of shrill speaking.
For many people Katrina was the ticket out of a completely dysfunctional city and way of life. Hopefully many have taken the chance at a new lease on life that was not available to them in the lower ninth ward and other war zones in that city.
USACoE is not at fault either.
That environmental groups prevented them from modernizing the levees.
See
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/berlau200509080824.asp
AJ:
Bubba was not in office in 1988.
ama055131,
Clearly, but he was afterwords. And if you read the post I only used him as an example of laying blame in the wrong place.
The fact is that democrats in Louisiana KNEW they were at fault and created the whole Bush’s fault meme to cover their rears. Kathleen Blanco started it because, she along with Nagin, were EXTREMELY negligent, if you want to know the truth, imho.
And as to Louisiana pre-Jindal, we all can have a look as to what democrats in power for decades can do to a government: corrupt banana republic. I know. I lived there 20 years.
And Frogg, they have already followed the money: check out the Levee Board’s property….like a casino, as I understand it.
It is said Louisiana politics exists to make New Jersey corruption not look so bad. While both contribute their fair share of politicians to the federal penitentiary system, Louisiana consistently reelects them upon release. This falls under the theory that I don’t need to trust you, I just need to know you then I know what I have to look for. BTW—they finally got Willie Jefferson on his way to the big house.
Well, I still live in La and Jindal has started the long road toward removing the corruption in La politics, mainly getting a Democrat out of the statehouse. That was a huge step.
Bush’s main problem with Katrina was he had to out maneuver the Dems that were in charge and by the time he got the roadblocks out of the way, the Handbasket had departed.