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Through My Eyes... |
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Sep 04, 2005
By Cornelia Spelman
It is abundantly clear to anyone who has been watching and listening to the situation in New Orleans that our government failed to respond adequately.
We don't need experts to tell us this--the faces of the anguished people begging for help have made it perfectly clear that no matter what President Bush says about it, this human catastrophe could have been prevented or hugely lessened. Too late, for all those who died, for the leader of our country to say it is the fault of Nature, or of local and state government. And it is offensive to me to hear some people call this "the blame game." It is no game.
William Cohen, former Secretary of Defense, said on CNN today that there ought to be no distinction between acts of nature and acts of terrorism--the government needs to be able to respond to either in the same way. The questions to ask of the government: What did they know? When did they know it? What did they do about it?
The answers to the first two questions have been widely discussed this week--they've known FOR YEARS that New Orleans was in danger.
The bodies floating in New Orleans indicate that the answer to the last question is: not enough.