2005, one year after the new President of the United States (POTUS), George W. Bush, was elected into office. The country was still recovering from the trauma of the dreadful attacks on the World Trade Center and Operation Iraqi Freedom was just beginning. While everyone was focused on National Security and fighting Al Qaida, Tropical Depression Ten was moving over the Bahamas and moving towards a tropical wave resting in the Gulf of Mexico. Catching everyone off guard, these two collided and began to move towards the states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The result was what is today known as Hurricane Katrina, or as FEMA describes it, "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in US history." Death, panic, anger, regret, betrayal, riots, looting: these are all things that occurred during or post Hurricane Katrina. Everyone was confused and looking for help, but it never came, thus, the “blame game” began. The “blame game” refers to – in this case – the events after a traumatic incident in which people begin to attempt to find who is responsible for the incident or not supplying the resources to survive the incident. The POTUS, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local/state officials, the military, and government, a whole, are just a few of the things people were blaming for failure to help in their desperate time of need. The individuals and organizations in their entirety as mentioned above are what can be considered political actors – any institution or individual who has an influence on political decisions. While political actors have long been a part of American politics, and their influence in decision making has long been exposed, Hurricane Katrina brought a whole new vision into just how intertwined and influential they are. FEMA’s duty is “to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards” (FEMA.org) During Hurricane Katrina – and debatably still – FEMA’s duty was not fulfilled. This led to investigation into what went wrong, where it all started, and why it was an issue in the first place. As news outfits (also a type of political actor) began to dig into the developing story, evidence began to arise on just how unorganized an ill-prepared the country was for what had occurred; How could this be though, FEMA was designed for this exact moment, and they had just finished an emergency preparedness exercise for this precise spot if hit by a hurricane? Sparked by the investigation, it became known that FEMA – ever since its establishing in 1979 by Jimmy Carter – had been a “dumping ground for political
…show more content…
In fact, when “[Bill] Clinton tapped James Lee Witt, formerly Arkansas's state emergency manager, [he] become the first FEMA director in the agency's history with direct experience in disaster management” (Pbs.org). Previously, including during Katrina, the directors in charge of the agency were no more than a highly paid and unqualified job holder. Whether they were in this position because they were old friends with someone high up, or because they were a donor to an official’s campaign, the position should not have been held by these unqualified
In fact, when “[Bill] Clinton tapped James Lee Witt, formerly Arkansas's state emergency manager, [he] become the first FEMA director in the agency's history with direct experience in disaster management” (Pbs.org). Previously, including during Katrina, the directors in charge of the agency were no more than a highly paid and unqualified job holder. Whether they were in this position because they were old friends with someone high up, or because they were a donor to an official’s campaign, the position should not have been held by these unqualified