Sunday, December 17, 2006

What really happened in New Orleans

If you ask most people what caused the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans and vicinity, they'll tell you "Hurricane Katrina." Others who think they are better informed will say it was the post-storm surge that breeched the top of the levees.
Both these explanations for the disaster that killed thousands and made hundreds of thousands homeless are factually incorrect.
Hurricane Katrina did not damage New Orleans in any significant way. The storm surge did not come over the top of the levees. The levees - designed, built and maintained by the federal government - collapsed. The catastrophe in New Orleans was not a natural catastrophe. It was a government-made one.
A group of New Orleans firemen stationed in a hurricane-proof office building while the storm raged documented what happened as it happened and were then ordered not to make the video they shot available to the public or talk about what they saw.
Now, long after the fact, we're finally learning the truth.

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