Over at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds points to this section of President Bush’s speech last night and raises valid concerns:
Yet the system at every level of government, was not well coordinated and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces — the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment’s notice.
This was also pointed out by commentators on ABC and NBC after the speech. Clearly, Bush has decided that a future natural disaster or mass terrorist attack in the United States will be accompanied by the military taking over jobs that, in the past, would have been conducted by civilians, local and state authorities, or volunteer organizations.
While it is true that the military is highly organized and probably much better suited to react quickly to disasters than any other institution in society, the prospect of a broader military role inside the United States should be cause for concern. True martial law was never imposed in the City of New Orleans, but if it had we would have seen American soldiers shooting at American citizens and we will see the military in an adversarial role with the civilian population. We’ve gone more than 200 years without having to worry about that type of situation developing in our country. I’d prefer to avoid anything that would make it more likely.
Technorati Tag: Hurricane Katrina
