That’s just one more nail in the coffin of Federalism. I lived thru a military dictatorship and although I respect the role of the military, in the United States and elsewhere, everything has a place and a function. Why can’t civilians handle a crisis the size of Katrina properly? Ah,! of course, politics, egos and accountability. Nobody wants to be responsible for screwing up and being heavy handed… Heck, the military has almost zero accountability in times of crisis and would see such as one more military operation. After that, please take your claims back to the same Creator that caused the crisis in the first place…
A plus of the military in such roles is perhaps its well defined chain of command. Alas, unless military personel are a breed of extraterrestials, the same discipline can be instituted in civilian departments. If such discipline cannot be found among regular civilians, please do hire ex-military personnel, but, whatever you do, do NOT handle your civilian responsibilities to the military. Once given the power it is very, very hard to take it back.
Bush Urges Shift in Relief Responsibilities
Bush Urges Shift in Relief Responsibilities
Congress Asked to Consider Placing Pentagon in Charge of Disaster Response
SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 25 — On Sunday, President Bush called on Congress to consider a larger role for U.S. armed forces in responding to natural disasters, as he completed what White House aides called a weekend “fact-finding” mission to determine whether the Pentagon needs more control.
“Clearly, in the case of a terrorist attack, that would be the case, but is there a natural disaster — of a certain size — that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort?” Bush said after a briefing from military leaders at Randolph Air Force Base here. “That’s going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about.”
Bush has told aides that one of the major breakdowns in the Hurricane Katrina response was the federal government’s inability to seize control of rescue and relief efforts. Under existing law and procedure, a state governor is in charge when natural disasters strike and is responsible for deploying the National Guard, though in certain cases, the president can order troops to support local law enforcement.