Some people seem to mean well but have a very poor grasp when it comes to logistics. Logistics folks, is the key here. And logistics is not simple.
For example, we could within a matter of a few hours add 5,000 troops on the ground. That's the easy part. But what happens when those 5,000 troops run out of supplies? Huh? They are nothing more than victims themselves at that point because they can't get around and they can't resupply themselves.
Before we can truly start helping people, we must first get the logistics in place. Like it or not, that's just the way it is. And unfortunately, it takes time. For every 5,000 troops we send into the city, we'll need 25,000 in the area to support them. You can't get that many people into place overnight. It takes time. Those navy ships that left their east coast ports will bring tremendous help when they arrive. But again, they can only sail so fast and they can't make the ships go faster.
Think people. When you send just 5000 troops into Louisiana, what do you need in place to sustain them? If they bring 200 trucks with them, do you realize how much diesel they are going to need to operate those? Guess what? That has to be brought in too because there is none available locally. These men have to eat and have somewhere to stay too. So there's more shipments that must be made. Helicopters? Those require a ton of fuel as well as maintenance. So all of that has to be brought in too. It takes an amazing amount of material to support such an ongoing operation. It's simply not feasible to snap your fingers and have everything there you need immediately. It defies physics.
To be honest, I think some of the blame I'm seeing people tossing around is borderline retarded. It comes from a lack of knowledge. So many people seem to be totally clueless what it takes to make something like this work. This is a disaster people! It's a disaster that in size and scope is unlike ANYTHING we've ever dealt with. It spans 4 states. Such a disaster simply pushes our capabilities to the max, in fact, it's really beyond our abilities. That's why it's a disaster. If this was a picnic it wouldn't be a disaster would it?
Our government at the local, state and federal level are doing their best. I'll admit, their best isn't enough. But I'll also admit, knowing just what is involved here that it's simply such a large scale disaster that no matter what, people are going to suffer. I hate to see this footage on the news of people in these dire situations as much as anyone here. But I'm also realistic enough to understand that not everyone can be helped right away, as much as I'd love to see that. It just isn't physically possible. That's the cold hard truth. You may not like it, but that's just the way it is.
The situation will get better as more men, materials and equipment arrive. But as I said, that unfortunately takes time. Many of the units called up several days ago are just now completing mobilization and reaching the area. Many in this country expect everything to be instant coffee, but that's just now how the real world works.
There's no way this is ever going to be a good situation. It will still be bad in a week. It'll be bad a month from now. But it will get better. But sadly, there will probably be some people who it will be too late for. That's not the fault of government. Government simply can't save everyone caught in situations like this all the time. In fact, people's total dependence on the government these days is a huge factor in this situation to begin with. Had people taken a few measures on their own...such as attempting to evacuate when they had the chance or stocking emergency supplies before the storm hit, like the government recommends, the misery and suffering could have been reduced.
You can toss blame around all you want. You can try to politicize this all you want. But I see that for what it is...unproductive BS! This is a tragedy and we are doing the best we can to deal with an event that's simply unimaginable and unprecedented in scope. As such, we aren't going to be able to do everything we'd like, though we wish we could. You're only kidding youself if you think we can. We probably have 1 million or more stuck in and around the New Orleans area alone. Think of the millions of others stuck in other areas like Slidell, Gulfport, Biloxi and Mobile and the other towns in LA, MS, AL, etc. Then think of just how much men and material it would take to bring a single meal to just 4 million people. Think about that. Then maybe you can realize just what we are up against and how difficult this is to deal with. Then maybe you'll take your criticism and turn it to something else. It's easy to sit and criticise. It's a different matter for those ACTUALLY having to deal with this. That's my advice to all those sitting on their ass and complaining about this being "too slow".
In short, hell no FEMA officials should not be fired. It's not their fault that this is the biggest disaster to ever hit the United States and is exhausting our resources. No amount of planning could have changed that fact.