Government protects itself rather than survivors?

[Preacherman]

In this thread, posted after Hurricane Katrina to attempt to summarize lessons learned from the disaster, I said this:

6. Self-reliance seems to draw suspicion upon you from the authorities. I've mentioned this in a previous post, but I've had many more reports of it from those who survived or bugged out, and it bears re-emphasizing. For reasons unknown and unfathomable, rescue authorities seem to regard with suspicion those who've made provision for their safety and have survived (or bugged out) in good shape. It seems to be a combination of "How could you cope when so many others haven't?", "You must have taken advantage of others to be so well off", and "We've come all this way to help, so how dare you not need our assistance?" I have no idea why this should be the case... but there have been enough reports of it that it seems to be a widespread problem. Any ideas from readers?

I asked for ideas about why this should be, and a member of the API List sent me the following article, which I found highly disturbing, but uncomfortably accurate. Decide for yourselves... I've highlighted what I think is the key paragraph in red text. Scary!

From Freedom Force International (http://www.freedomforceinternational.org/freedomcontent.cfm?fuseaction=FEMA_Katrina&refpage=issues):

THE US GOVERNMENT DID NOT FAIL ITS MISSION IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINA

Analysis by G. Edward Griffin, updated 2005 September 21

There has been widespread criticism of the response of US officials to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. The tone of these complaints is that the authorities failed to do their job quickly enough. Some commentators have said this is a racial issue, claiming that the government would have acted more promptly if the majority of victims had been white instead of black. Others have said it was an issue of the rich against the poor, the oil companies against the consumers, the land developers and contractors seeking to force people out of the city so they can rebuild without interference at taxpayers' expense. Democrats have said the problem is that Republicans were in control, and Republicans are indifferent to the plight of the common man.

In news coverage of this tragedy, the most significant events often were buried beneath a blanket of heart-wrenching stories of personal survival, scenes of awesome destruction, reports of looting, and interviews with experts. However, the key to understanding can be found in the following list of news headlines, most of which did not make it into mainstream coverage. These reports make it clear that the government did not fail to respond in a timely fashion. The problem was that it did respond - but in such a way as to actually hinder rescue operations. There were too many instances for this to be merely a mistake or a bureaucratic snafu. There is a clear pattern here that cannot be denied. Why this should be so will be discussed in a moment, but first, here is the amazing record.

(NOTE INSERTED: For these links, please click on the link above to go to the article, and you'll find the links operational there. The links below are text only, and will not link to the reports concerned.)

FEMA tells first responders not to respond until told to do so. FEMA News 2005 Aug 29 (Cached)

FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations.
FEMA News 2005 Aug 29 (Cached)

Offer of helicopters for rescue work is rejected.
Narcosphere 2005 Sept 1 (Cached)

FEMA blocks 500 Florida airboat pilots from rescue work.
Sun Sentinel 2005 Sept 2 (Cached)

FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck.
Chicago Tribune 2005 Sept 2 (Cached)

FEMA turns back volunteer Sheriff's deputies and medical team. Unknown News 2005 Sept 2 (Cached)

FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans.
Tri Valley Central 2005 Sept 2 (Cached)

Pentagon says military mission in New Orleans is combat, not rescue. Army Times 2005 Sept 2 (Cached)

FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid.
Daily Kos 2005 Sept 3 (Cached)

Homeland Security won't let Red Cross deliver food.
Post Gazette 2005 Sept 3 (Cached)

Military turns back flood survivors trying to leave city. Thousands held at gunpoint and locked up in Superdome.
Reuters 2005 Sept 3 (Cached)

FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital onboard. Chicago Tribune 2005 Sept 4 (Cached)

FEMA cuts local emergency communications phone lines.
Meet the Press 2005 Sept 4 (Cached)

FEMA turns away experienced firefighters.
Daily Kos 2005 Sept 5 (Cached)

FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks.
NY Times 2005 Sept 5 (Cached)

FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel.
NY Times 2005 Sept 5 (Cached)

Navy pilots who rescued victims are reprimanded.
NY Times 2005 Sept 7 (Cached)

US government turns back German plane with 15 tons of aid.
Star Tribune 2005 Sept 10 (Cached)

FEMA officials forbid stores from re-opening. Sheriff defies their order and threatens to arrest them. (Article near the bottom of page.) Times-Picayune 2005 Sept 11 (Cached)

FEMA declines volunteer firemen for rescue operations. Uses them to distibute public relations pamphlets.
Salt Lake Tribune 2005 Sept 12 (Cached)

FEMA orders doctor to stop treating hurricane victims.
Advocate 2005 Sept 16 (Cached)

So what is going on here? Were agents of the federal government trying to kill American citizens? Were they trying to obtain the maximum death toll and the highest level of human suffering? It would seem that way at first, but I would like to suggest that this incredible behavior stems from something else - something equally unsettling.

The only legitimate function of government is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens. In New Orleans, however, it was clear that the primary job of the military, FEMA, and Homeland Security was, not to protect citizens, but to protect the government and keep it functioning. It can be argued that, if government does not protect itself first, it may not be able to protect its citizens, so that should be its first obligation. However, the government was not in danger in New Orleans. Aside from one or two snipers, its forces were never under attack, and its ability to function was never threatened; so the self-preservation argument is not valid in this case.

It was clear from the start that the goal of FEMA and Homeland Security was, not to resue people, but to control them. Their directive was to relocate families and businesses, confiscate property, commandeer goods, direct labor and services, and establish martial law. This is what they have been trained to do. The reason they failed to carry out an effective rescue operation is that this was not their primary mission, and the reason they blocked others from doing so is that any operations not controlled by the central authority are contrary to their directives. Their objective was to bring the entire area under the control of the federal government - and this they succeeded in doing very well.

William Anderson, in an article posted to the the web site of the von Mises Institute, came to the same conclusion but from a slightly different perspective. He calls attention to the need for politicians and government agencies to be in the spotlight during emergencies so they can look good to the voters and claim credit for all positive results. They are not interested in sharing the praise. Williams writes:

The huge outpouring of private aid, from donation of money, food, clothing, time, and housing (many people simply have taken in refugees — white and black — in their own homes) stands in contrast to [Anne] Rice's "America is hopelessly racist and hates the poor" [as Rice claimed in the New York Times] and demonstrates that the will to sacrifice for those truly in need certainly exists in this country. While it is not surprising that the elitist New York Times would take this as its standard view, it also is a shame when the country's "newspaper of record" can't even record the right things.

Yet, for all of the public angst over the federal government's — and especially FEMA's — post-disaster response, most observers have missed what is painfully obvious: the government's response was perfectly in character to how people in government act in such situations. To say this in an alternative way, government was being government the same way that a dog is a dog.

As anyone knows, dogs are territorial animals, and governments are territorial entities. The first rule that a government agent follows when confronted with an "emergency" is to "secure the area." For example, when two young men were merrily going on a murder and mayhem spree at Columbine High School in 1999, the vaunted police "SWAT" team stayed outside and encircled the complex because someone said that the area had to be "secured" before police actually could try to save anyone. (Of course, we found out later that not only did police fail to save people, but at least one person bled to death because police refused to get help until the man had died. This was not incompetence; it was the normal workings of the "I am in charge and don't you forget it" mentality that permeates government at all levels.)

Immediately after the hurricane had stopped in New Orleans, for example, a Wal-Mart had brought a truckload of bottled water; FEMA officials turned the truck away, declaring that it was "not needed." Before we dismiss this incident as yet another example of incompetent government, we should realize that the official's actions were completely within the character of government.

When governments act to provide services to individuals, they are done within a very different context than what occurs when private organizations provide services. The post-Katrina services performed by the Red Cross and other organizations such as civil groups and churches did not come with the threat of force attached to them. Church volunteers cannot arrest or even kill someone in those circumstances, but a representative of the government can perform such things without recrimination (and on more than one occasion did just that post-Katrina).

Moreover, government services are performed in as visible a manner as possible. Anyone who has watched some of the post-hurricane coverage has seen press conference after press conference after photo-opportunity of government officials from President George W. Bush to mayors, governors, FEMA and military personnel and the like, people whose job is to be seen doing "good" for political constituents. These things are done with the podium and the TV camera in mind.

The FEMA official who waved off the Wal-Mart truck was correct; FEMA did not "need" Wal-Mart to help. In fact, people from FEMA did not want Wal-Mart to help, as the company would have been able to steal some of the thunder that "rightfully" should belong to FEMA and other government agencies.

While the world is preoccupied with trying to fix the blame for the government's failure in New Orleans, the reality is that it did not fail at all. It was a huge success in promoting its own agenda. Unfortunately, that agenda was not to rescue American citizens. Once this simple fact is understood, everything that happened in the wake of Katrina becomes understandable and logical.

If there are new terrorist attacks against the United States or Great Britain or any other country, what we witnessed in New Orleans may have been but a fleeting glimpse into the future of global collectivism.

 

[P95Carry]

Peter - thank a lot for that - very enlightening (understatement!) - and certainly some scary elements.

It can but be hoped that many eyes have been forced open from all this and that lessons learned will pervade many levels. I will post this elsewhere if I may - it, like your other material - deserves wider exposure.

 

[20cows]

Wow!

This just reinforces my determination to "stay under the radar" as much as possible if this kind of situation comes my way. Avoid concentration camps!

 

[TallPine]

I'm sure there are some in Washington DC that are trying to figure out how to make a hurricane on demand, and wondering why they didn't think of it first.

 

[hillbilly]

I have to say, I think the tinfoil hat is on a little tight today.

So many times, I think well-meaning people see tinfoil conspiracies in all sorts of actions and events that aren't tinfoil conspiracies, but something else entirely that is much more simple.

FEMA didn't do all this bungling because of some conspiracy to control people.

FEMA did all this bungling because that's what a bloated, over-regulated government bureaucracy does best.......bungle.

FEMA turned away firefighters and doctors and others who wanted to help, for example, because FEMA, as a federal agency, has all sorts of idiotic, bureaucratic regulations about things such as all people doing any work under FEMA's purview must have had a government-mandated 60 hours of awareness training about sexual harassment.

There were documented cases of firefighters and rescue pesonnel who showed up to help in New Orleans being flown to Atlanta, instead, so they could sit through the mandatory sexual harassment training session so they would meet FEMA's idiotic requirements.

People who succeed and get promoted in bloated, government bureaucracies are not people who get things done effectively.

People who get promoted in bloated government bureaucracies are those who are the best at jumping through the idiotic bureaucratic hoops.

Unlike, say, the military, there is literally NOTHING and I do mean NOTHING at stake in the day-to-day operations of the vast majority of federal bureaucracies except following bureaucratic protocols or thinking up new bureaucracy to make it look like they are actually doing something.

The military is different because flubs or screw ups can quickly result in lots of people dying in very nasty ways in a short time.

And even when that happens, it causes a lot of problems for the bureaucrats associated with the military.

But in non-military bureaucracies, the biggest thing they all worry about is covering their collective bureaucratic asses.

FEMA is no exception. FEMA, even though it has the word "Emergency" in its title, is nothing more than another bloated federal bureaucracy run by iditotic, dilbertized, ridiculous regulations and protocols that were all created by idiot bureaucrats merely to make it look like they were actually doing something to justify their bloated, bureaucratic salaries.

It's not a conspiracy.

It's just what happens in any bureaucracy any time, any where.

Getting things done is not the mission of FEMA.

The mission of FEMA is to expand, increase, and maintain the bureaucracy of FEMA.

FEMA didn't want any help or any assistance from anyone, or any other bureaucracy or organization because to accept such help would not expand, increase, or maintain the FEMA bureaucracy.

hillbilly

 

[NMshooter]

Why this is news is beyond me, but most folks do not look at things in quite the same manner.

Once upon a time I understand we had a system called "Civil Defense" which performed the same functions that FEMA is supposed to, except that it was local instead of a big Washington based agency.

Of course folks got along before that too, in worse circumstances, such as the Chicago fire, San Francisco fire, numerous major earthquakes, all without outside assistance.

From the beginning FEMA was supposed to insure continuity of government (federal) in case of World War 3, not help people who just had their homes destroyed.

Even state governments seem to line up for the federal assistance, makes you wonder what they are for if they can not handle a bad situation themselves?

 

[JohnBT]

"There were too many instances for this to be merely a mistake or a bureaucratic snafu."

Tinfoil stuff, lies or woeful ingnorance. I've worked for a state government for 30+ years and our agency is funded with 80% federal money. Mistakes and snafus are common everyday events. Such is the nature of a bureaucracy. Sometimes parts of it work wonderfully and then the next boss comes along and fouls it up in the name of progress.

IOW, I find it amusing that some people say the government couldn't organize a relief effort, but that they could organize a conspiracy in the midst of a 90,000 square mile disaster. And keep it a secret with no leaked memos or intercepted phone calls.


"...and the reason they blocked others from doing so is that any operations not controlled by the central authority are contrary to their directives. Their objective was to bring the entire area under the control of the federal government - and this they succeeded in doing very well."

Somebody needed to be in charge and the majority of Americans appear to want the Federal bureaucracy to fill that role. Well folks, it's a bureaucracy and that kind of orderliness moves very, very slowly through the chain of command. In addition, FEMA typically depends on 2500 to 5000 part-time volunteers to make things happen after a disaster. Their 2500 full-timers are not all 'field staff.' Many of them support the often ignored role of FEMA which is to support the continuation of the federal government in the event of an attack on D.C., etc. That's why some of their installations are underground in the mountains. It's not to protect the bottled water and baby wipes needed by disaster victims.

The majority of the complaints appear to be that 'they' didn't exert enough of the right kind of control in a timely fashion. IOW, a reporter got there first and why didn't the government get TONS of supplies there in 2 or 3 days too. Probably because that's not what the system is set up to do.

John

P.S. - And some people are idiots, pure and simple, and beyond much help. --- I know 2 of the people who were stuck in the Superdome. One of them lives around the corner and she and her boyfriend flew into NO just in time for the hurricane ("It turned? When? Why are all those cars going the other way?") and didn't get out in time. Some vacation. And these are middle-aged professional people for goodness sake. After the first day or so they stopped eating or drinking so they wouldn't have to look for a place to relieve themselves. Earlier some Guardsmen saved them from a nut who threatened to toss them over the rail from the upper deck. AND IT'S THE PRESIDENT'S FAULT!!!!! OR FEMA'S?

 

[Camp David]

Just to highlight the bungled state and local response to Katrina, this story:

"Chief: 249 New Orleans police officers left posts"
Tuesday, September 27, 2005; Posted: 12:42 p.m. EDT (16:42 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/27/neworleans.police.ap/index.html
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- "Nearly 250 police officers -- roughly 15 percent of the force -- could face a special tribunal because they left their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina and the storm's chaotic aftermath, the police chief said."

Makes "New Orleans Finest" kind of a foolish expression!

And breaking news that New Orleans Chief retires:
"New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass III announces he is retiring after a brief transition period."
http://www.cnn.com

Good! Nagin and Blanco next please!

 

[HankB]

But in non-military bureaucracies, the biggest thing they all worry about is covering their collective bureaucratic asses.

Good statement -
I've found it also applies very well to corporate management, too.

But from what I've read about some aspects of the military, I'm not so sure I'd exempt the armed forces entirely from this mindset . . .

 

[TexasRifleman]

I've always told people I thought FEMA was the most dangerous agency in the .gov, always to laughter and a joke about my paranoia.

Oh well, I'll stay paranoid a bit longer I suppose.

 

[Atticus]

Well said Hillbilly.

There is an old saying which goes, "an elephant, is a mouse built to government specifications".

 

[rick_reno]

That's quite a list - thanks for posting it.

Not to fear, the fox who lives in the henhouse (Congress) is investigating the disappearance of the chickens (FEMA screwups) right now. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom it and find the rooster did it.

 

[Polishrifleman]

Who cares about stealing someone's airtime other than those that feel it necessary.

Let's not forget about the people, good hearted selfless individuals willing to donate their time, goods, and money to help.

What do they get, sorry no thanks, or pile it over there with the tons of other goods collected to be sorted and maybe distributed because we don't want someone evacuated to feel slighted because they wanted Hanes breifs and got Wal-Mart Boxers or how come they got chicken and we got beef or I'm a vegi?

Whatever happened to "Happy to be alive" "We're thankful for anything we can get".

Why does the federal government cater to the individual and not the greater good? Why does the individual take for granted but not learn to be grateful?

 

[Old Dog]

It was a huge success in promoting its own agenda.

I'm sorry, but this is such misguided crap I can't let it go. Government, in of of itself, is incapable of thinking, much less promoting "its" own agenda ... Government is a framework, not a living, breathing, thinking entity. Now, while there may be people within government promoting their own agendas, we all need to move well beyond the concept that government itself has an agenda. Government did not fail in the aftermath of Katrina, people failed. Policy failed. To ascribe human motives to agencies, not beings, does not shed any light on the problems in this country.

Perhaps these "analysts" may enjoy crafting their clever little essays, but ... they're creating only words on paper, not solving the riddle of why government bureaucracy doesn't work ...

 

[Preacherman]

With the greatest possible respect to those who've disagreed with the article I posted: I really think that a careful reading of the article does not justify "tin-foil-hat" labels, etc. IMHO, the author is trying to make the point that government becomes an end in itself, rather than a means to an end, and that in any crisis situation, government will operate in such a way as to reinforce and perpetuate its control (and therefore its existence). We can moan all we like about this being bureaucrats screwing up, rather than that anomalous entity called "government": but when the operatives act on behalf of the entity, we may as well speak of the entity itself, no?

I took the trouble to go to the von Mises Institute Web site and look up the article by William Anderson that was quoted in the original article. You can find Anderson's article here - it's very interesting reading. I was particularly taken by his closing paragraphs:

For those who maintain that the government "failed" its "mission," I must say that they are wrong. True, the government with its ham-fisted policies of blocking relief missions, imposing price controls, and acting in a dictatorial, but incompetent style, seems to have "failed" in making things better, especially in the days directly after the storm passed. But, if you understand that government is a mechanism by which some people impose their will by force over others, then you would have to admit that the government succeeded and succeeded beyond its own expectations.

Thus, I leave readers with this question: If you believe that the government "failed" in the aftermath of Katrina, will the government then have less or more "authority" when the next disaster strikes? I think all of us know the answer.

You can always expect government to behave exactly like government. When you consider your political position, consider whether this institution ought to be put in charge or disaster relief at all, or the economy, or society, foreign policy, health care, education, courts, the environment or anything at all. Katrina and its aftermath is only the latest exhibit in the ongoing historical documentary in favor of a government-free society.

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Just wondering if they are going to take any action against the two female officers who were caught looting on video tape.

You know -- affirmative action!

The St. Louis PD has an affirmative action plan, so do I.

Mine has five magazines.

 

[Standing Wolf]

It was clear from the start that the goal of FEMA and Homeland Security was, not to resue people, but to control them.

Government looks after government's interests; if there are time and effort left over, government looks after other interests, as well. Like all other living things, governments aggrandize themselves and seek to reproduce themselves.

 

[longeyes]

don't bother us, we're government

"Dave, I can't open the pod bay doors. I'm sorry, Dave...."

 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

You can always expect government to behave exactly like government. When you consider your political position, consider whether this institution ought to be put in charge of disaster relief at all, or the economy, or society, foreign policy, health care, education, courts, the environment or anything at all. Katrina and its aftermath is only the latest exhibit in the ongoing historical documentary in favor of a government-free society.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head...

 

[Navy joe]

I don't think it is a people control issue a la concentration camps....yet. It is a bad case of "I'm in charge here" syndrome. "You will respect mah authoritaah!" Or, "I'm the only one in this state professional enough to...." Imagine an organization that worried about getting the mission done first, instead of worrying about who was in charge. FEMA, due to extensive and dangerous emergency powers, needs to go away.

 

[JohnBT]

"in favor of a government-free society."

And replace it with what, anarchy? I hope not.

"The problem was that it did respond - but in such a way as to actually hinder rescue operations. There were too many instances for this to be merely a mistake or a bureaucratic snafu."

Still sounds like tinfoilhattime stuff to me. I just don't see FEMA's underfunded, understaffed and poorly organized response as being a calculated plot...unless the goal of the plot is to return the Presidency to the Democratic Party.

John

 

[tanksoldier]

The mayor of NO and the governor of LA screwed up in every way possible, then told the FEDs "fix it".

Help was turned away because it couldn't be coordinated, it security couldn't be provided and it couldn't be supplied. Every volunteer you let in the area is one more mouth to feed, and they were already strapped to provide food and water for the refugees.

Between the usual bureaucratic errors, the mess the local govt made, and the size of the disaster it's no suprise to me that many people are unhappy, what's I'm suprised about is that everyone else seems suprised.

 

[Michigander]

Heh. Isn't the FEMA supposed to like have a back-up federal government ready to go in case the duly elected one is incapacitated?

Ha Ha ha ha ha ah ha ha - ahem.

FEMA should be disbanded completely forever!

 

[BigG]

I find it amusing that some people say the government couldn't organize a relief effort, but that they could organize a conspiracy in the midst of a 90,000 square mile disaster. And keep it a secret with no leaked memos or intercepted phone calls.

JohnBT has a good observation for you conspiracy theorists to think about.

 

[beerslurpy]

I really wish they would cut these large programs to ribbons and pass the savings on to the taxpayers. Wal-Mart completely owned the government in terms of supplying relief aid. Even when you count all the interference, Wal-Mart distributed 10 times more water, blankets, food and generators than anyone else either at fair prices or given away for free. Dont you think we could have just cut Wal-Mart at check and let them handle supplies? Wal-Mart handles supplies every single day of the year and makes money from it. Cutting them checks instead of reinventing the wheel (and poorly at that) would have completely obviated the need for any govt effort in terms of providing relief supplies.

As for the people in NOLA, I think think they would have been better off without being "rescued" into the superdome nor by being rescued by CHP in their homes. From what I have heard, individual citizens did most of the good work on the ground while cops mostly went around causing harm either intentional or inadvertant. They seem to have been given bad orders and unfortunately also seem to have obeyed. Cutting government out of this whole mess would probably have reduced the scope of the tragedy many times over.

The only people that did their jobs in govt this time were NOAA for predicting the hurricane would hit NOLA days ahead of time. Everyone past that point dropped the ball.