Federal Emergency

Mis-Management Agency

Arthur Garcia, staff writer

There is no doubt that Hurricane Katrina was a staggering blow to our country. 

Hundreds of lives were lost, property was destroyed, and the Gulf Coast will forever be scarred. Throughout the days that followed Katrina’s initial landfall, there are no words to describe the images being transmitted through our televisions. People trapped on their own roofs, bodies floating along the street, and infants with a look of near emaciation. 

Of course, I was horrified and concerned along with everyone else; however, another emotion arose of equal importance to me. Anger. 

Where was the help? Why weren't these people being evacuated? I saw the news coverage with the rest of America on FOX News and CNN, and all I could think of was, "What's going on?" I couldn't help but compare our neighbors to the southeast to those of third world countries. You see people in Africa and the Middle East hopeless and distraught, but in America? Why are these people suffering, and where is our Federal Government? 

Many people argue that when we question our national government and begin pointing fingers at those in charge, we are taking away from the issue at hand, which is having compassion for and helping those affected by Katrina. I do have compassion and sympathy for those affected by Katrina, but what a bout the people that lost their lives as a direct result of bad leadership and poor management? 

Sure, we can blame it on President George W. Bush for deciding to elect a person without adequate skills or credentials as the head of FEMA. After all, doesn't FEMA stand for Federal Emergency Management Agency? Where was the management? We can even blame Michael Brown, who has resigned as the director of FEMA following the Katrina disaster. 

The bottom line is that there are a lot of people to blame, and without a proper investigation into our country's emergency response efforts we are left questioning what's going to happen next time our country is in trouble.

People that argue that Democrats are merely attempting to tear the administration apart by surfacing the obvious are playing politics in a time when Americans deserve answers. I believe that it is our right to know who, what, when, where, and why our emergency relief efforts were not good enough. I believe the people immediately affected by Katrina deserve to know this information. Is it too much to ask, "What happened and who screwed up?" Rather than debating the fact of why I am concerned about our country's leadership and why you believe it might be irrelevant, shouldn't we just fix the problem?

There was criticism of some public figures who spoke out such as New York State Senator Hillary Clinton, who only days after the relief efforts of New Orleans, called for an independent council, like that of the 9/11 commission, to investigate the problems of our response to the disaster area. Yes, the House has agreed to a committee to investigate the problems with the response. However, why is there a republican majority investigating a republican government?

Florida State Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz argues that allowing this committee to proceed with investigations would be like allowing ENRON executives to investigate its scandals within its own leadership.

Senator Clinton directly called on the House for an independent commission to investigate the situation so that there would be no partisanship ideas influencing the investigation.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi fears, as quoted by CNN, that "the Republican-led panel will 'whitewash' the investigation."

These are all strong views and points, and it is vital that we ask our government to investigate this issue with complete fairness and objectivity. I do respect President Bush for making a public and formal apology. And for at least admitting that there were problems and something wrong with our country's emergency response capabilities. 

However, respect can only go so far. It seems that he is only attempting to cover up the obvious, that there are major problems with the leadership of agencies such as FEMA. 

I believe it only makes sense that we do create an investigative committee that would actually not only tell us who is at fault, but also tell us the truth. Our country's administration is way too involved in politics and way too worried about being embarrassed. I believe someone should be held responsible, whether it's our president or the head of FEMA.

There is a problem with our country's ability to respond to emergency situations. There was an obvious problem with our country's communication efforts during the Katrina disaster. 

Yes, someone is going to be embarrassed, but we need to know how we can fix these problem areas.

The people waiting on their roofs for three days without food, water, or even proper sanitation deserve to know why it took our government so long to help them. 

I believe that we owe it to them and to ourselves to have a truthful and accurate account of what went wrong. I believe that as public servants, these government officials, whether at the federal, state, or local levels, have a responsibility to admit to what they did wrong.