A broader role for the armed forces?

William M. Arkin editorialized in WaPo Amidst all of President Bush's proposals last night was one decree that the Commander-in-Chief can implement without Congressional or public intervention: "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice".... I for one don't want to live in a society where "a moment’s notice" justifies military action that either preempts or usurps civil authority.

Neither do I

What is more, nothing about what happened in New Orleans justifies such a radical move to give the military what bureaucrats call "a lead role" in responding to emergencies.

What happened is that the media kept complaining that the White House did not do anything, when the president declared a disaster for the area BEFORE the storm struck and then kept asking for authorization to send in that aid, but the Governor would not authorize it, because she wanted to punish a mayor that had supported her opponent in 2003. If you are going to blame him for not sending in the aid, you need to give him the power to do it.

In the wake of Katrina, the military was standing by awaiting orders, as it should be. The White House and the federal government were for their part either on vacation or out to lunch. The problem wasn’t the lack of resources available. It was leadership, decisiveness, foresight. The problem was commanding and mobilizing the resources, civil and military.

Heather Hurlburt blogged We have a military, as is repeated ad nauseam by the political class, of unprecedented power and quality. Its excellence includes: tracking and destroying fast-moving enemies, be they large armies or small guerrilla groups; preparing for and fighting the large set-piece battles on land, sea and air that this generation of military leaders trained for; moving massive amounts of materiel and soldiers quickly; taking overwhelming control (when political leaders allow it) of the means of violence and of technology; and putting minimal humanitarian systems in place immediately after a battle or natural disaster.

But when a democracy reaches the point that the military is the first answer to any policy question that comes up, that is a scary place.

I agree. One must recognize that the Mayor and those that report to him are the first responders, and his backup, the second responders, report to the Governor. IThe Feds are the third responders, and you should not blame Washington for not sending in forces that had not yet been asked for by the Governor, and you should not blame aid workers for not wanting to go into a lawless area where truck drivers and aid workers were being shot at.

Scary for society as a whole, but also for the military. It's interesting that conservative military writers have been putting out novels and policy analyses for a decade now, some approvingly and some alarmingly, imagining a dystopian future where the military is the last competent organization on a decaying American landscape.

Now, it should be simple and straightforward to call in the military for help when a massive disaster occurs. And when someone without a dog in the blame fight documents for me how something other than Federal, state and local failure to appreciate Katrina's gravity prevented that from happening, I'll listen to suggestions about changes.

• August 26 Bush urged Blanco for permission to mobilize military to help. She refused
• August 28 Governor requests disaster declaration, which Bush does immediately
• August 28 Mayor Nagin issues mandatory evacuation order, but does not use the 600 buses available to him to evacuate
• August 31 residents are trapped in Superdome with no food or water, but state officials will not allow Red Cross in because the aid might make them want to stay, and Mayor wants them to evacuate (the buses he failed to use earlier are now under water).
• September 1 Governor finally asks for federal control of the relief effort, and Lt Gen Russel Honore arrives and takes charge the same day. 10,000 people are evacuated the first 12 hours.
• September 2 convoy of 50 relief vehicles arrive.