Blame Game

The fingerpointing is in full swing. I want very badly to defend the efforts of the federal government, especially those people on the ground who are working very long hours in incredibly dangerous conditions. And the armchair quarterbacking by people who have very limited information about the situation on the ground is irritating--and sad, really.

That said, it's clear at this point that when this situation finally gets under control, federal officials will have much to answer for. Among the key questions:

• Why has it taken so long for the National Guard to take control of the situation in New Orleans? I take Pentagon officials at their word when they say that it's not that too many Guard units are deployed to Iraq. There seem to be plenty of troops available in the region. So why will it take almost a week after the storm hit to get 30,000 of them on the ground?
• Why did the situation at the Civic Center deteriorate so badly before anyone seemed to even know about it? (FEMA Director Michael Brown says he only learned about it yesterday.) The situation at the Superdome was brought under control before it got completely out of hand.
• Why did emergency plans seem not to contemplate a disaster of this magnitude? It already seems clear that plenty of people were warning that a major hurricane strike on New Orleans could be a disaster of unprecedented proportions.