9-11 And Katrina: Disastrous Experiments In Liberalism

Christopher G. Adamo

August 25, 2006 -- In the next few weeks, two very notable dates will be observed. August 29 marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans. Less than two weeks following that will be the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Liberals are already engaging in an enormous amount of reflection. And they plan to do much more, but only if they can completely control the manner in which America recalls the original events. If they are successful, Republicans could take a major hit from the memorial.

But in truth, rather than run from the recollection of either incident, Republicans ought to loudly trumpet both in their true context, as grim reminders of the tragedy that can occur when America becomes too distracted from real dangers, whether natural or man-made, that it will regularly and inevitably face.

Neither situation could be characterized as totally unexpected. Rather, consistent warnings were voiced for years, and even decades, that such calamities would likely eventuate, and that the nation could best cope with situations of their nature by properly preparing in advance.

And in neither case was any such preparation made. The real root causes were those that resulted from the misguided devotion of liberal America to its agenda, which invariably benefits the liberal leadership at the expense of everyone else.

Furthermore, in both cases, all of the post-mortem “soul searching” has itself revealed that those chiefly responsible remain totally unrepentant, and are absolutely unwilling to rectify any contributing lapses, even if their obstinacy means leaving the nation highly susceptible to a recurrence.

Particularly in regards to 9-11, the recent exposure of a massive terrorist plot in England clearly indicates that the perpetrators of the 2001 attacks are indeed planning more strikes that would eclipse even the horrendous death and mayhem of that awful day. Yet liberal/Democrat finger pointing seems far more motivated by the anticipated fallout in the upcoming elections than by any concern for the safety of the American people.

Nor should the nation be anything but outraged at such transparent, politically motivated efforts as the so-called “9-11 Commission.” America cannot afford to be less than forthright in its efforts to determine and correct the grave security lapses that left it vulnerable to the plotting of the terrorists. Here again, another, far more sinister purpose drove certain of the commission’s members.

For starters, it was hopelessly tainted by the dubious participation of Clinton crony Jamie Gorelick, who quickly proved that her entire purpose was to deflect culpability from where it truly belonged, which was with the philandering and bungling actions of the Clinton Administration.

Throughout the 1990’s, the storm clouds of Islamism gathered, with occasional terrorist acts being mounted against the United States. Yet during that entire period, Bill Clinton’s main reaction to the looming threat was to determine how best to “spin” it for political gain.

In retrospect, this will be the grim reality of his “legacy.”

Thoroughly politicized though it may have been, as the commission proceeded in its work, it became apparent that the threats to America had not materialized overnight, and therefore could not be blamed on the fledgling Bush Administration or its new Attorney General, John Ashcroft.

Yet the effort was made to affix just such blame. As a result Ashcroft himself was called to testify. But rather than accepting the premise of his attackers and becoming defensive, he bluntly pointed to panel member Gorelick as the chief culprit in the bungling of intelligence. And no amount of criminal destruction of evidence by Sandy Berger will ever erase that truth.

Likewise, the Katrina fiasco ensued as a byproduct of previous and long standing bureaucratic corruption and incompetence, perpetrated with complete disregard for the very widely accepted knowledge that a large storm would eventually strike New Orleans.

In truth, the storm brought no surprises, except that during the time which should have been devoted to preparation, the New Orleans government misdirected funds and indulged itself in every luxury except that of shoring up its levees and infrastructure.

As a consistent liberal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin steadfastly refuses to take responsibility for the fiasco that ensued. Instead, to this day he still makes excuses and blames others, even to the point of invoking the absolutely predictable “race card.” So nothing has changed. Sadly, owing to the willingness of that city’s residents to reelect Nagin, nothing will change.

Instead of righting such wrongs, the entirety of the supposed “fix” is as it always has been, demands for enormous sums of money with no accountability.

After months of corruption and scandalous misuse of emergency funds in the wake of the hurricane, it is glaringly obvious that New Orleans needs more such “aid” about as much as it needed more school buses. The problem prior to the storm was not financial, and it is not financial now.

Contrary to the media hype that has already commenced, and will undoubtedly continue as long as the left believes it can garner any political gain from either situation, Republicans have good reason to directly face them.

Together, they showcase the real results reaped from a shortsighted and self-serving approach to problems.
Despite all of their phony tears, “commiserating” political hacks on the left never intended to fix or address those problems either before or after thousands of Americans lost their lives.

Rather, they remain determined to empower themselves, ultimately at the expense of those whose interests they are sworn to serve. And if they regain their majorities in Congress this November, the nation can only expect more of the same.