"The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush"Hurricane George
Updated Sept 5, 2005
See also our Katrina Timeline which details some puzzling behavior by FEMA and our speculation on why?
No, George Bush did not cause Hurricane Katrina. But his slow response to the disaster, and his actions before the hurricane, are generating a lot of heat for the White House.
Under funding: Spiegel reports that "In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S., including a terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent."
Security: The security situation in New Orleans has been terrible, with armed gangs looting stores and attacking citizens. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of Louisiana's "National Guard" are in Iraq. That certainly had an impact on their readiness to solve problems at home.
Global Warming: Bush has resisted any serious attempts to combat global warming and consistently tries to downplay its effects. He even had the chapter on global warming from the 2002 EPA report removed because it conflicted with White House policy. Why is this important? Because global warming causes an increase in ocean temperatures and hurricanes are powered by warm ocean waters. So more global warming means more frequent and more powerful hurricanes.
Bush walked away from the Kyoto Accord on Greenhouse Gasses because, as he said in July 2005 , "it would damage America's economy, you bet". But rising sea levels, and climate change and catastrophic hurricanes also damage the economy.
Slow Response: Bush talks a lot about being prepared for terrorist attacks and protecting America. But when a real disaster occurred the response from the Federal level was too little, too late. The local police, emergency crews and Coast Guard have done a heroic job in the wake of this hurricane. But they were simply overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster and needed immediate federal assistance. The National Guard and military were ready to step in immediately but they had to wait until Thursday for orders from Washington. Bush had the authority to send aid immediately but he failed to do so. Why were these orders so slow in coming? People are dying because Bush and his team are fumbling around and unable to muster an adequate response.
Resources
"No One Can Say they Didn't See it Coming", By Sidney Blumenthal, http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,372455,00.html
"The Bush Interview: Tonight With Trevor McDonald", Monday July 4, 2005 in the Guardian Unlimited, http://www.guardian.co.uk/g8/story/0,13365,1521149,00.html
"Distorting and Suppressing Climate Change Research", http://webexhibits.org/bush/5.html
"Department of Homeland Screw-Up, What is the Bush administration doing?", By Tim Naftali, http://slate.msn.com/id/2125494/
"Bush: Katrina response unacceptable", By Steve Holland,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090200766.html
Times-Picayune Editorial on Federal Response, http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/times.picayune.editorial/index.html
"National Guard Delay Likely to Be Examined", AP, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_us/katrina_national_guard_2
