Katrina damage attributed to Bush policies

Local and federal officials are in little doubt that the budgetary priorities of Iraq, tax cuts and the “war on terror” are responsible for the poor response of Katrina. Disaster prevention experts has been studying New Orleans for year urging upgrades to its levees and other preventive measures. The Army Corp. of Engineers which was supposed to carry out repairs had had its funding cut because of Iraq commitment.
The priority at the Department of Home Guard Security was counter terrorism. More than one - third of Louisiana’s 10000 Guardsmen are in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Many Americans have had difficulty coming to terms with the images on their television screens this week. The victims of the flood have appealed for food, drink and medical care but the response has been painfully slow. Thousands of refugees have been forced to flee across Louisiana and neighboring Mississippi.
On top of everything, Katrina has exposed social divisions in southern city. Most of those left trapped In New Orleans were left to endure appealing degradation and gang violence in official shelters that police feared to enter.
The inability of authorities to protect and rescue the victims has caused anger. Their suffering and the atavistic scenes in New Orleans have dealt the biggest shock to the US psyche since September 11, 2001. Many anguished comparisons have been made with developing countries. : “This is not the America I have grown up in,” reflect one baffled CNN reporter on Thursday night.