Familiar Names and the Cost of Loyalty

Names we have become all too familiar with in the Iraq "bonanza" are reaping the rewards of Katrina as well - Halliburton, Bechtel, Flour, GRSI - and believe it or not, Blackwater.

What a comedy (tragic-comedy) of "errors" and policy we have watched unfold over the last two weeks. It seems that the Bush administration consistently "guesses" wrong on priorities, but that's what happens when self-interest supersedes public good. The Newsweek article "How Bush Blew It," presents a Whitehouse that "lacks imagination" and a president surrounded by flunkies intent on keeping things bright.

It has been argued that the flooding of New Orleans was in part caused by diversion of funds to the "war on terror," and specifically to the needless war in Iraq. Katrina, like Iraq, is running with no-bid, open-ended contracts handed out as prizes or payback to the corporations most closely connected to the administration. For those who have hopes that the reconstruction of New Orleans and the Gulf will bring substantial jobs to address the glaring inequalities of the region, guess again. Bush threw a bone to those contractors by suspending the federal pay act.

But priorities are not a new problem with the Bush administration. Upon entering office in 2000, anti-terrorism went to the bottom of the priority list. Then we had the events of 9/11/01, and "terrorism" became the guiding mantra of the administration. Prior to 9/11, the administration had set course on deconstructing the federal government, privatizing every operation possible, shifting the economic resources of the country to the top 1%, giving corporations a ruling hand in national policy, and hiding all decisions in a cloak of obscurity. The 9/11 Commission faulted the administration for a "lack of imagination" in deterring the attacks, but they had plenty of "imagination" on how to profit from them. Certainly, the overarching goals of the administration have not changed.

While shifting focus to the "war on terrorism," two new bureaucracies were put in place. The behemoth Office of Homeland Security which buried FEMA in the dungeons, and the Centralization of "Intelligence." Monies for infrastructure and disaster response have been shunted to the same deep pockets as the funds for education, health, and other social services. This cutting of funds has dramatically affected the population's quality of life and foundation for the future. Now we see that the cutting of those funds can destroy an entire city, kill we don't know how many, and devastate an entire region of the country. We can be sure, that "national emergencies" may "move up" the administration's priority list when those deep pockets once more have the opportunity to abscond with more uncontrolled tax payer dollars.

Striding side by side with the rest of the administration's agenda is the elimination of constitutional rights. The door for this was blasted open with the reaction to September 11th with the passage of the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, and has been followed by a slew of questionable policy and legislation. Bush has been relatively successful in creating the total surveillance society and blurring the lines of constitutional (and international) rights and protections. While trying to figure out how to spin the failures in the aftermath of Katrina, the administration got a HUGE win on eliminating the constitutional protections for citizens. A federal court of appeals has determined that Bush indeed has the authority to label a US citizen an "enemy combatant" and keep us detained indefinitely without charge or access to the justice system (NY Times, 9/11/05; GNM, 9/12/05). How will this decision play out in Bush's "zero tolerance" for "looting" policy in New Orleans? How will the (white) U.S. public respond to putting way the (African American) "criminals" who "disrupted order" as portrayed on the national media? While lots of folks are giving Governor Bianco (LA) grief over not "federalizing" the policing of National Guard forces, we may come to see this as one of her wisest decisions.

Meanwhile in New Orleans, we have Blackwater and ISI, apparently being "deputized" by the police to guard property, and "protect" ... somebody. Once again we have the corporate "shock troops" being paid big bucks with the same concerns as the operate under in Iraq. Who is accountable and why are they there? Will they once more "assist" in gaining "intelligence?" Or are they just there to protect the "interests" of the New Orleans elite?

The Bush administration has "cost" us over and over again. Cost us in terms of lives, in terms of rights, in terms of our economy, in terms of international participation and perspective. What price the elimination of the "impediments" to massive concentration of wealth and power? What price is too great for empire? Apparently no price is too great, and no corruption too low. Bush will remain "loyal" to his "friends" regardless of the cost the rest of the world bears.

Articles
9/19/05 Thomas, Newsweek, How Bush Blew It

9/12/05 McCarthy, Wa. Post, Cleanup Cash Goes to Familiar Faces

9/12/05 Capitol Hills Blue, Bush Buddies Land Fatcat Contracts for Katrina Relief

9/12/05 Krugman, NY Times, All the President's Friends

9/12/05 Wilson, Guardian, Mercenaries guard homes of the rich in New Orleans

9/12/05 GNM, Now Bush can lock up anyone forever without charge

9/11/05 Lewis, NY Times, Court Gives Bush Right to Detain U.S. Combatant

9/10/05 Scahill & Crespo, CommonDreams, Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

9/09/05 Edsall, Wa. Post, Bush Suspends Pay Act In Areas Hit by Storm

Posted by rowan at September 12, 2005 9:38 AM | [eMail this article!] |