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Jewish World Review Sept. 30, 2005 / 26 Elul, 5765 Don't militarize disaster relief By Rich Lowry
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Nobody looked good during the Katrina response, except the U.S.
military. In keeping with Washington's habit of always fixing
yesterday's problem in ways that might cause trouble tomorrow, the
military's star performance in Katrina means that it might get the
lead role in any significant natural disaster in the future.
Democrats have long clamored for more "first responders." Well,
now they are about to get 1.4 million of them. President Bush has
said that the lesson from Katrina is that we need "a broader role
for the armed forces — the institution of our government most
capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice."
Instead of using the military as a last resort in such large-scale
disasters, the administration is considering going to it first and
removing legal obstacles to such a role. This is a seductive but
mistaken idea.
The military's response to Katrina was impressive, especially
compared with the Department of Homeland Security. Like the pope in
Stalin's barb, the DHS has no "divisions," and is a ramshackle
product of the biggest bureaucratic reorganization in 50 years. "It
can be viable," an administration official says of the department,
"but not in this decade."
So the DHS is on the outs. For such a bold crew, the Bush
administration has shown a remarkable ability to be buffeted by the
latest fads. It was against the creation of a homeland-security
department, before it was for it. It was against the 9/11
commission, before it was for it. It was lukewarm on implementing
the 9/11 commission's recommendation of a pointless reorganization
of the intelligence bureaucracy, before it was for it. Now it is for
the latest hot new idea — militarization of disaster relief — to
make up for the deficiencies of the last hot new idea, the DHS.
Of course, the military has crept further into disaster response
already, since we face the specter of massive terrorist acts on our
shores. But a terror attack is an act of war, whereas a hurricane is
an act of G-d. The latter is a purely domestic matter in a way that
the former isn't.
The current obstacles to calling on federal troops are hardly
insurmountable. A governor can simply ask for them, as Gov. Pete
Wilson did in 1992 during the L.A. riots. The problem in New Orleans
was that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco wouldn't ask.
Even in this situation, the president has awesome powers. Bush
could have invoked the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to go
over Blanco's head to use troops to quell the unrest; it just would
have been politically risky for him. That's not such a bad thing.
Such speed bumps are useful in a political system that values checks
on governmental power. If we wanted simply the most efficient
government possible, we wouldn't have federalism and the U.S.
Congress in the first place.
Are state and local government always feckless? Not necessarily.
No one accuses Florida Gov. Jeb Bush of mishandling hurricanes. If
the people of a state tolerate corruption and inefficiency, and
elect governors and mayors who are distinguished only by their lack
of distinction, they can expect disarray in a pinch. The military
doesn't exist to save people from the consequences of
self-government. Otherwise, we could appoint Lt. Gen. Russel Honore
governor of Louisiana and leave it at that.
Yes, the military is extraordinary. But the very qualities that
make it so — the discipline, the organization, the precision — are
forged because it must deal with the most trying of human
experiences: combat. The mission defines the organization. If the
mission changes, the organization will as well, and the qualities
that make the military so enviable will be bleached away.
Is the DHS dysfunctional? Make it work. Do we need better first
responders? Train police and firefighters to higher standards. Is
coordination between the levels of government inadequate? Fix it.
Don't look to the military as a cure-all just because it's an
institution that, at the moment, the nation's political leadership
hasn't botched.
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© 2005 King Features Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
