There is an interesting analysis of the failed use of buses to evacuate thousands from New Orleans at http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/007288.html. In all of the recriminations, I hope that any committee or commission that researches the Katrina disaster will take into account the failures at all levels: local, state, and national. At this point I really haven't made up my mind, but I am concerned that the national press is too focused on FEMA's failures and is overlooking the role of local and state planning. It is important to have local and state agencies take some leadership in these disasters to avoid more centralized bureaucratic involvement, which does not seem to work well.
I am sure FEMA is filled with bureaucratic rivalries which spill over into other agencies and in turn is impacted by power struggles in other agencies. I have seen reports that FEMA had troops into New Orleans quicker than they did in previous Florida hurricane disasters. If those reports are true, something did not happen at the state and local level in Louisiana which did happen in Florida.
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