Letter to the Columbus Dispatch, published in the Editorial page on Monday, September 12, 2005
Bad planning hurt U.S. in Iraq, Gulf Coast
As an Iraqi living in the United States, watching the chaotic scenes in Louisiana and Mississippi really explains the mess in Iraq for me. The parallels are overwhelming. Policy-makers knew years ago that something like this would hit the southern coast of the United States. What did they do about it? Nothing. Countries like the Netherlands and Norway have much more technologically advanced levees and dikes that endure winds of 200 mph vs. the 150 mph caused by Hurricane Katrina. Why couldn't the United States, the most technologically advanced country in the world, enjoy the same? Likewise in Iraq, the planning that was supposed to take place before the invasion never happened. The army and police, the only resources for maintaining security in the country, were disbanded in the blink of an eye, without any consideration for the consequences. The result is a price the Iraqis and Americans are paying for with their blood. I cannot understand this lack of organization in what is supposed to be the most advanced Western country. It makes me question the existence of any accountability.
No one can tell a superpower that it mishandled a crisis at home any more than one can tell it that it has mishandled an invasion overseas. The reconstruction in Iraq will not happen anytime soon due to lack of planning. At home, relief came days late, after the hurricane struck, at the cost of thousands of lives.
Bad planning hurt U.S. in Iraq, Gulf Coast
As an Iraqi living in the United States, watching the chaotic scenes in Louisiana and Mississippi really explains the mess in Iraq for me. The parallels are overwhelming. Policy-makers knew years ago that something like this would hit the southern coast of the United States. What did they do about it? Nothing. Countries like the Netherlands and Norway have much more technologically advanced levees and dikes that endure winds of 200 mph vs. the 150 mph caused by Hurricane Katrina. Why couldn't the United States, the most technologically advanced country in the world, enjoy the same? Likewise in Iraq, the planning that was supposed to take place before the invasion never happened. The army and police, the only resources for maintaining security in the country, were disbanded in the blink of an eye, without any consideration for the consequences. The result is a price the Iraqis and Americans are paying for with their blood. I cannot understand this lack of organization in what is supposed to be the most advanced Western country. It makes me question the existence of any accountability.
No one can tell a superpower that it mishandled a crisis at home any more than one can tell it that it has mishandled an invasion overseas. The reconstruction in Iraq will not happen anytime soon due to lack of planning. At home, relief came days late, after the hurricane struck, at the cost of thousands of lives.