Whose fault was the disaster following Hurricane Katrina? Just after the flood started and the weaknesses in our infrastructure became apparent, all sorts of finger pointing ensued. At first, there were two schools of thought. On the one hand it was the victims’ fault for living in such a vulnerable area. On the other, it was FEMA’s fault for not responding quickly or adequately enough.
A national betrayal
Whose fault was the disaster following Hurricane Katrina? Just after the flood started and the weaknesses in our infrastructure became apparent, all sorts of finger pointing ensued. At first, there were two schools of thought. On the one hand it was the victims’ fault for living in such a vulnerable area. On the other, it was FEMA’s fault for not responding quickly or adequately enough.
America Betrayed, however, gets to the heart of the matter and identifies the real culprits. Within the first five minutes we know that the Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for not only Katrina, but for the imminent repeating of this disaster in many other cities around the country.
Originally, it was thought that the levees had buckled under the strain of the added water. However, according to local engineers, the levees were unstable long before Katrina occurred. Bad planning, soil erosion and various government water projects had caused the levee walls to tilt and fall, while in some places, building was simply unfinished.
It is easy to understand the outrage of the local residents who’ve lost everything. When St. Bernard Parish resident, Henry Rodriquez, voices his opinion on the closing of the Mr. Go shipping canal at a public hearing, the response is not to listen to his concerns but to laugh at him and tell him to watch his language. This scene sums up perfectly the response to the disaster in real terms.
The most interesting thing pointed out in this film is that although the U.S. government has largely tried to shove the problem of New Orleans under the rug, if New Orleans were to close down, the American oil, seafood and shipping industries would close as well due to their dependence on the Port of New Orleans.
But what’s worse is that if we choose to allow New Orleans to be cut off as a total loss, we have to be prepared to do the same when the levees collapse in Sacramento, New York or Houston. As the engineers make perfectly clear in this film, it is not a matter of whether these levees will falter, but when.
Since this documentary was made prior to the election of President Obama and the stimulus that has followed, no one comments on whether the proposed building up of our infrastructure will include projects in New Orleans. Nor does anyone say whether the Army Corps will be put in charge of those projects.
In the nearly four years following Hurricane Katrina, there has been very little done in the way of returning the citizens of New Orleans to a normal life. Hopefully this documentary will let Americans outside of Louisiana know that there is still a lot to do.
As documentaries go, America Betrayed is pretty conventional. However, the subject matter and clear, concise delivery of information well make up for the lack of flash. It is a modern history of fraud, corruption and massive waste by our government. With a cast of prize winning journalists, law professors and engineers, no stone is left unturned in this American tragedy. It’s worth watching more than once.
