Katrina response flawed

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and parts of Mississippi. People were killed and lives were destroyed, but what happened afterwards was perhaps an even bigger disaster.

The federal government and state agencies couldn’t get their act together and the recovery was unnecessarily delayed. Then the political fallout began and both sides began pointing fingers at one another.

How childish and inconsiderate that was to the thousands of victims who are trying to cope with this ordeal. It was a positive sign when President George W. Bush stepped in and took responsibility for the chaos and lack of communication. That was a beginning.

The head of FEMA resigned. He was the scapegoat in this situation. Bureaucratic obstacles and inefficiency are the culprits here. The money was there but there was no cohesive plan to implement the recovery process.

About 500 police officers walked off the job in New Orleans. Desperate survivors began looting and rioting. Poverty breeds anger, violence and hopelessness. The levee broke, all hell broke loose and the suffering became more severe.

What’s the lesson here? I think the terrorists are watching these events and telling themselves Americans are no more prepared for an attack than we were before 9/11.

The finger pointing has to stop. Families have to be cared for and reunited with lost loved ones and cities and homes have to be rebuilt. This is a billion-dollar problem. I have every confidence that we can overcome this tragic issue and be wiser for it. Some may disagree with that assessment. We’ll have to wait and see and pray.

- Tony Rodriguez, CSULB alumnus

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