What Is It With New Orleans Officials?
This story quoting W.S. Riley, deputy Police Chief in New Orleans, is yet another attempt by a New Orlean’s official to shift blame away from local government.
A top New Orleans police officer said that National Guard troops sat around playing cards while people died in the stricken city after Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans deputy police commander W.S. Riley launched a bitter attack on the federal response to the disaster though he praised the way the evacuation was eventually handled.
First off, someone should educate the reporter that the National Guard is under State authority.
The National Guard commander, Lieutenant General Steven Blum, said the reservist force was slow to move troops into New Orleans because it did not anticipate the collapse of the city’s police force.
And that’s the point, really. The National Guard’s role in disaster relief is not one of law enforcement. That is up to the local police forces, and in this case, the New Orleans PD, already one of the most corrupt organizations in any metro area, simply dissolved away. I’m sure you’ve read the reports of cops joining in on the looting, or simply walking off the job. I guess an oath of service isn’t taken very seriously down there.
Riley went on: “We have been fired on with automatic weapons. We still have some thugs around. My biggest disappointment is with the federal government and the National Guard.
Well, you are COPS. You are supposed to deal with the bad guys in a situation like this. Perhaps your biggest disappointment needs to be redirected at the men under your command.
And so we are clear about this guy’s political perspective, we have this.
“For 72 hours this police department and the fire department and handful of citizens were alone rescuing people. We have people who died while the National Guard sat and played cards. I understand why we are not winning the war in Iraq if this is what we have.”
Not only does he lack any self-respect for his command, he has very little understanding of all the progress made in Iraq by the very National Guard organization he condemns.
I wonder if Mr. Riley is an actual cop, or simply some crony of a corrupt system who got the job through political hook-ups.
New Orleans continues to suffer for the government they elected. I hope this is a lesson to so many urban areas with corrupt and ineffective city governments.
Filed under: Katrina
New Orleans continues to suffer for the government they elected. I hope this is a lesson to so many urban areas with corrupt and ineffective city governments.
I don’t understand… Are you suggesting that the city government in New Orleans caused a hurricane? Let me know in your response to the one of my other unanswered questions.
First off, someone should educate the reporter that the National Guard is under State authority.
The Feds still play a significant role. President Bush – a Federal-level political figure – specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row.
Follow the money…
I’m not suggesting that the city government caused a hurricane. That would be over the top.
Oh wait…
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan (search), who was camped outside President Bush’s Texas ranch for the past few weeks, says Hurricane Katrina (search) is all President Bush’s fault, insisting that the president is “[now] heading to Louisiana to see the devastation that his environmental policies and his killing policies have caused.”
All kidding aside though, the New Orleans local government has failed miserably in disaster planning and management. New Orleans has for many years been a capital of corruption, and the failure of the electorate to hold their government accountable has now came back on them in a way few people could have imagined. It isn’t a GOP/Democrat issue…it is corrupt ineffective government.
As for Bush in the levies…well, another post forthcoming.
From what I’ve also seen from the corrupt city is the people worried about not having anywhere to party and get drunk while they listen to music. I don’t think our tax money should be used to rebuild New Orleans. I’ve seen enough of this place on court tv and cops. People talk about Bush, but he’s not the state local gov. and the blame needs to be put back in New Orleans.