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Military analyst Bill Arkin warns that Bush's call last night that "...a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice" is dangerous:
Who calls for earlier resort to martial law as a policy just because he and his aides couldn't get their derrieres back to Washington from month long vacations? He can't be bothered to govern, he can't hire professional staff for his agencies, and now he wants to resort to martial law at the first sign of crisis? That's a very dangerous way to compensate for lack of competence, lack of discipline, lack of leadership. Go read....The President’s plan is both wrong-headed and dangerous.
I for one don't want to live in a society where "a moment’s notice" justifies military action that either preempts or usurps civil authority.
What is more, nothing about what happened in New Orleans justifies such a radical move to give the military what bureaucrats call "a lead role" in responding to emergencies.
In the wake of Katrina, the military was standing by awaiting orders, as it should be. The White House and the federal government were for their part either on vacation or out to lunch. The problem wasn’t the lack of resources available. It was leadership, decisiveness, foresight. The problem was commanding and mobilizing the resources, civil and military.
The President's plan is also wrong-headed in that it lets the Department of Homeland Security off the hook. If such a department hadn't been set up after 9/11, I might reluctantly conclude that the military is the only institution that could do the job in such a large scale catastrophe.
But it does exist, and it needs to be held accountable and redirected to safeguard the American people and respond to emergencies. A well run FEMA with the right marching orders (people first, fabulous weapons of mass destruction Hollywood scenarios as time permits) can quickly call upon military resources, as it could have in Katrina....
Update: Democracy Arsenal's Heather Hurlburt reminds us of that old saying, "When you've got a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
Posted by Laura at September 16, 2005 08:27 AM