President Bush is being unfairly blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster, writes US ambassador to Ireland James C Kenny.
Hurricane Katrina's deadly swathe across the southern United States has left millions of people across four states without homes, without jobs, and in need of shelter, food, water and all other necessities of life. This is an area the size of Great Britain; three times the size of the Republic of Ireland.
Although heroic efforts have been made to rescue people and to begin rebuilding communities and livelihoods, the work ahead will be long, difficult, and tedious.
As of today, over 70 countries, including Ireland, have offered assistance. Several Arab states and the Islamic Society of North America have pledged many millions of dollars in aid as well.
Even in a country with great resources, help from friends around the world is needed when a monumental disaster strikes. We are very grateful for this show of solidarity and friendship and thank you for coming to our aid.
The response by local, state, and federal government agencies has been huge, but sadly it has not been enough or fast enough to save everyone. To date, over 17,000 lives have been saved in direct rescues from attics, rooftops, and other stranded areas; sadly, we also know that probably thousands of other people did not survive the hurricane and its aftermath.
Could we have done better? Of course. We could have and should have done better, but then that is always true of disasters. Whatever has happened has happened and we cannot turn back the clock. But I am confident that at the appropriate time, the American people and our government will examine closely how we handled the worst natural disaster in American history and we will figure out what we did wrong, what we did right, and how to do it better in the future.
But in doing so, let's be honest with ourselves in casting blame. New Orleans is only one of many cities in America threatened by natural disasters. Miami, Houston, Jacksonville, Charleston, and many other cities are also directly in the paths of hurricanes.
Earthquakes threaten Los Angeles and San Francisco. Volcanoes threaten Portland and Seattle.
Tornadoes can rip through St Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, and many other midwestern cities in any given year. New York, Chicago, Boston, and all other major cities must confront the threat of terrorism, something to reflect on this coming Sunday, September 11th.
Disaster planning, in short, is about risk assessment, calculating the odds of natural occurrences, and allocating scarce resources in an effort to manage an adequate response to every possible event.
It is a difficult and imperfect process, and when there is a total breakdown of infrastructure - as was the case in New Orleans and much of the hurricane-affected areas - then the process is even more fraught with difficulty.
President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that said, "The buck stops here." He was referring to the old saying of "passing the buck" so that someone else gets blamed, or someone else has to solve the problem.
He understood that ultimately it is the president who has to shoulder responsibility, take the heat, and not blame others below him for problems. That is exactly what President Bush understands. Strong leader that he is, President Bush knows where the buck stops, and he is not blaming others for the shortcomings of our disaster response.
Hurricanes come in 30-year cycles and we know roughly when to expect them. What we do not know is exactly when and where they will strike. Planners in New Orleans did plan for Hurricane Katrina and the city weathered the hurricane itself fairly well. But when the levees burst, it was hardly possible to deal with what was effectively two simultaneous disasters.
I believe the president is being unfairly blamed for this situation. Could signing on to Kyoto have prevented this disaster? Of course not.
Hurricanes are cyclic and are not affected by global warming. Could we have responded better had we not been supporting the democratically-elected government of Iraq against extremist violence? Probably not - after all, disaster response is mainly the provenance of the National Guard and they were on the ground within 24 hours once state authorities activated them.
Was the disaster response slow because the victims were mainly poor African-Americans and Hispanics? Absolutely not.
Racism is simply not a factor as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, herself an African-American native of Alabama, noted when she visited the disaster-stricken areas.
"Americans don't want to see Americans suffer," she said. "And I know the president and I know his heart and I know that he really aches for these people. And nobody, most especially the president, would have left people unattended because of their race."
One week later, the situation is well on its way to being under control and the worst is behind us. Food, water, shelter and medical care are being provided to large numbers and rescues continue.
Casting blame, for right or wrong, does no good at this point. Americans, with the help of their international friends, need to focus 100 per cent on the victims and save the blame game for later.
There will be plenty of time for that in due course, but for now, let's pull together, support the disaster relief operations, and help the victims to rebuild their shattered lives and communities.