Yep, hindsight is a wonderful thing. And what if they had done all that, and nothing disaster-related happened? These same people would be trashing the decision and "waste" of money. There would be hearings. Everyone would want to know who made such an assinine decision. Yep, those rearview mirrors are just terrific.

>My Fellow Americans...
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>The National Weather Service tells me that in a few hours, a Catagory 4 Hurricane is about to strike the New Orleans area.
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>The Army Corps of Engineers reports that due to budget cuts, they have been unable to maintain the levees properly and, as a result, there is a strong possibility that the city will be flooded with serious loss of life.
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>Accordingly I have instructed FEMA, as part of the Department of Homeland Security, to prepare personnel and equipment for prompt dispatch to the area as needed.
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>Security personnel, SAR teams and teams with back-up emergency generators will assemble immediately at airfields outside the area to be transported by helicopter to every hospital and other vital resource needing protection and power. Some have suggested that we wait a few days and then send in 1400 personnel per day, but I have decided that it is better to be safe than sorry.
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>Naval units including hospital ships will be dispatched immediately, so they can arrive as soon as possible. I have decided not to wait until a couple of days after the storm to send a ship from Virginia.
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>We have C-141s and other aircraft capable of flying half-way around the world (with refueling) to drop supplies and life rafts for refugees in foreign nations; I have ordered the Air Force to prepare the same for use over New Orleans, and the rest of the Gulf Coast.
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>We pray that these precautions will not be needed. However, it is better to be prudent and, at any rate, it is a useful exercise that will train our personnel to cope with an actual terrorist emergency.
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>God bless the United States of America
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>>I appreciate the comments, but step back and look at the enormity of the situation. No plan would have been sufficient. In time there will be help, but you cannot expect the federal government to be anywhere instantly. It just is not going to happen. Could you imagine being the person who wanted funding to cover a plan that would take care of this prior to the hurricane. You know as well as I that funds are not around that would have even come close to handling this situation or to possible cover all situations that would ever hit the US. Lets be realistic about expectations before we start blaming anyone. It just does no good at all.
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