Katrina Accountability-"Chain-Saw the Totem Pole"

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Perhaps the military was not the best example. The U.S. has access to more vehicles per capita than any other nation (I'm pretty sure, anyhow). The State Guard could have commandeered buses, semis, whatever and given fair compensation to the truckers and companies that were thereby inconvenienced. Neighbouring states could have done the same thing. Shut down Greyhound for a few days and use their fleet.

If it had not been a hurricane coming toward the coast but an enemy fleet, the response would have been MUCH quicker, I guarantee it -- I don't buy the argument that "it takes time to get these things done" -- They had time (those in responsibility) and they dropped the ball pathetically.

 

LDK, you're thinking in the right direction -- these are all things the DHS needs to think about doing. One huge problem with 'commandeering' -- most companies (and their congressmen) frown upon such things, fair compensation is really never fair. Unions also have a beef with using untrained military/guard to drive trucks and buses (yet, those same groups would argue against sending their members to an area of danger). Good idea, the government needs to work it out.

The Coast Guard (part of DHS) DID respond extremely quickly. Over 10,000 rescues in days 3-6 of the crisis. Realize that the Coast Guard vessels in the path of the hurricane were either evacuated or damaged. Getting those vessels back at the scene and in working order in three days is quite remarkable. A lot of people just simply don't understand safe distance versus speed of the vessel. Boats just aren't as fast as cars, especially in 20'+ waves.

An enemy fleet is an entirely different issue. The military is trained and prepositioned to provide rapid response. This means food, water, guns, and bullets enough for the responders (and ONLY the responders) is ready to go. Certainly not enough food and water for another million people. Navy and Air Force units can easily and quickly approach an enemy force -- provided their not using a CAT4 hurricane as protective cover. Rescue is not a part of the military's charter -- it's not trained for (at least not at this scale) and it's not funded. Civilians would still be required to evacuate on their own (they may ignore high winds, but explosions and bullets get their attention).

 

Why should the Guard have commandeered buses? The idiot mayor of New Orleans, Nagin, had more than 1,000 buses at his disposal and he refused to do it. He wanted the feds to use private buses. But all this is talk is a waste of time since the President is not allowed to use the military in the states without the permission of the governors. And incompetent governor Blanco refused give that permission untill things fell apart.