The Hurricane

By now I’m sure everyone is aware of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has wreaked (and continues to wreak) on the Gulf Coast and far northward. As an avid news watcher and self-proclaimed amateur meteorologist, I am impressed with the storm. The first Hurricane I remember following was Hurricane Gilbert back in 1988 (I believe), which also hit the Gulf Coast. Ever since then I’ve been hooked on observing them in all their splendor and intensity. Hugo, Andrew, Bob, Bonnie, Opal; I remember them all. I can even tell you how strong each one was, where it landed, and approximate monetary damage for many of them. My family and I even drove through the remnants of a Hurricane (Alberto) on the Gulf Coast (which was quite an experience to say the least). And of all the storms I’ve watched, Katrina has to be the most awesome one I’ve ever followed.

I remember watching this storm develop last week. It was a small and meek storm that developed near the Miami coast of Florida. I didn’t think it was going to amount to much, and when it hit Florida, it was a diminutive Category 1 Hurricane. Then it weakened to a Tropical Storm, strengthened back into a Category 1 storm, and was a Category 2 storm when I last saw the news Saturday night. Having seen many storms before, and taking into account how close Katrina was to land already, I didn’t expect the storm to get much stronger, and maybe it would hit land as a Category 3 storm. At least that’s what I thought.

Boy was I wrong!

When I woke up Sunday morning, Katrina had jumped from a Category 2 storm to an unheard of Category 5 Hurricane, with sustained winds of 160 mph. And just a few short hours later, instead of weakening (as I had expected it to), the Hurricane was even stronger with winds of 175 mph. Though amazed by the storm, I began to consider the consequences and what could be done to help people who were sure to be devastated by the coming Hurricane.

In this country, there are 3 groups that are inevitably called in to help out with disaster relief efforts. They are the Red Cross, the shadow government FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Guard. That reality got me thinking, What if there aren’t enough national guardsmen to help out with the relief effort?

As of July 2005, the National Guard comprised 41% of US forces in Iraq (roughly 55,350 Guardsmen). Now, I’m not certain what the number of Army National Guard personnel is here in the States (such information is incredibly difficult to find in Post-9/11 USA), but let’s just assume that there are more than enough in the US to handle the current situation in the Gulf. My concern then becomes what if another natural disaster occurs now (Volcanic Eruption, Earthquake, another Major Hurricane; all realistic possibilities)? And if such a horrendous thing were to occur, how much more vulnerable does that make this nation to a terrorists attack?

So here’s my frustration, our President and his cronies are constantly parading around, preaching the false doctrine of “we’re safer now than before the Iraq War/before 9-11.” My thought is that if you believe our President, then you also believe that Elvis is still alive. It is not unthinkable that we could see a serious negative domino effect with respect to security here in this country.

Let me explain.

When we invaded Iraq, we sent over tens of thousands of Army National Guard personnel (who are supposed to protect the USA borders). In doing so, many young men and women that were in the Reserves were upgraded to Full-time National Guard service. And as you might recall, all branches of the Armed Services, including the Army, are having trouble meeting yearly recruiting goals. So, when a natural disaster like Katrina hits, and the National Guard is called in to help out with security and clean-up, it puts further strain on each State’s branch of the National Guard. Now consider the possible addition of another major natural disaster occurring in the coming days (or even a terrorists attack).

How in the world would we defend ourselves with so many guardsmen and other servicemen deployed in Iraq, helping out with Katrina, and then dealing with the other (hypothetical) tragedy?

Honestly, it’s not brain surgery to consider or realize that maybe the US is at its most vulnerable when we are hit with a major natural disaster like Katrina. Militarily, we are already spread thin worldwide, and that becomes more critical in times of natural disasters. And we’ve already seen how cold and calculating “the terrorists” are. I could imagine that they too realize this vulnerability and would seek to use it to their advantage.

And I know I sound cryptic, but it makes sense to me. Furthermore, I’m not the only one with this concern. Michigan Senator Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, expressed similar concerns about exhausting the National Guard back in July (a concern he also shared with many Governors who were worried about the number of National Guard Units they’d have at their disposal in case of Natural Disasters).

My basic point is that I believe it’s high-time that President Bush puts his money where his mouth is, and secures our borders (that’s another blog for another day right there) while making sure that this country has the military support that it needs to protect these people (US citizens) in times of extreme tragedy. Otherwise, in my opinion, we are no safer than we were the day we set foot in Iraq.

Because as my very wise mother often said to me in my youth, “How can a man take care of other things if he can’t take care of his own house?”

Mr. President, you should listen to my mom!

-Maelstrom