Looking back at 9/11 in light of Katrina

The government permitted the 9/11 Commission to release the following findings on airport security prior to 9/11:

• U.S. aviation officials had been warned as early as 1998 that al Qaeda might hijack commercial jets and use them to slam into high profile American landmarks.
• Two of the three airports used by the 9/11 terrorists were known to have severely flawed security as demonstrated by repeated lapses.
• A report to FAA officials in early 2001 stated that the ability of airport security screeners to detect weapons had declined a great deal in the years prior to 2001.

[Source SF Gate Also reported in Dallas Morning News 9/14, 2005 p. 10A ]

Prior to 9/11 they were warned of terrorism dangers by the Clinton administration, and Richard Clarke remained with the National Security Council to deal with it. Clarke and the warnings were ignored. The three items above show that the warnings were numerous and were factual, not political.

Now compare this with the inaction of the federal government in preparation for the destruction of New Orleans when it was hit by a major hurricane as was certain to happen sooner or later. FEMA itself put out a report in 2001 that listed a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three top threats likely to face America (the other two were a major terrorist incident in New York and an earth quake that hits San Francisco.) FEMA practiced a similar exercise designated Hurricane Pam last year, and the New Orleans Times Picayune had a lengthy series of reports on what to expect.

Just like 9/11, Katrina caught the Bush administration flat-footed and unprepared.

The Bush administration lives in its own world, and is not ready to deal with reality. The looting in Iraq after the statue of Saddam was brought down should not surprise anyone. Nor should the rise of effective insurgency in Iraq after this failed administration attempted to occupy Iraq. Reality keeps catching these guys flat-footed and unprepared.

When there is a conflict between what people want the world to be and what the world really turns out to be, then the government needs to be prepared to deal with reality. The Bush administration and American conservatives in general seem to not understand this.