The State Department's foreign media reaction report for 13 Sept is on "Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Still to be Learned." It's a must-read for anyone interested in Katrina's impact on America's foreign relations.
"Bushwhacked by Katrina," by NJ Nanporia - the Deccan Herald (Bangalore, India), 11 Sept 2005
...[F]or some of us, many thousands of miles away from the tragedy, one particular TV image seemed to explain [shortcomings in the official US response to Katrina]. This showed Bush’s rather belated arrival at one of the afflicted states to attend a “briefing” from some governors and key officials....
Bush was clearly uncomfortable. Sometimes he leaped forward in a display of concern and interest. Sometimes he looked away with the discomfort of one unaccustomed to be told anything. Sometimes he gave his interlocutor a quick, even furtive glance, only to shift his attention elsewhere. The confident, self-assured body language of a President who is fully in charge was totally absent. His body weight was transferred from one leg to another. And in every respect he projected the impression of one impatient of detail and therefore unable and reluctant to absorb it....
When nine-eleven happened Bush was chit-chatting with children and spent some crucial minutes with them with no apparent grasp of the dimensions of the crisis. When the tsunami devastated vast areas of south-east Asia he offered no more than token aid before he understood that this was ridiculously inadequate. Has he a mind of his own or, as has often been speculated, is he the victim of this neoconservative clique?
"Hillary Has the Wind at Her Back," by William Rees-Mogg (opinion, reprinted from the Times (London)) - The Australian, 13 Aug 2005
Has Katrina made senator Hillary Clinton the next president of the US? No, because her campaign was already rolling ahead in the month before the hurricane. But Katrina and the slow emergency aid response may have been the final blow to Republican prospects for the election of 2008....
Katrina did not create the trend [of diminishing public approval of Pres. Bush] but it crystallised in people's minds the perceived weaknesses of this administration; it is seen as uncaring, out of date and out of touch. The President must fight back or the mid-term congressional elections will be a disaster; he will lose his grip on power while he is still in office. Beyond that is the prospect of Hillary Clinton for 2008, perhaps becoming a two-term president. That would take the US through to 2016. The storm warning is Hurricane Hillary.
"The Displaced Americans," by Shmuel Rosner - Haaretz (Israel), 9 Sept 2005
...The current battle for New Orleans will also leave a long-term impression. America will prepare differently for natural disasters. It will investigate the errors and glitches, will invest resources, will formulate new guidelines. That is the American way - slowly, but very systematically. Its weakness is exposed when there is a need to improvise, but once it gets organized, it will demonstrate a power that is second to none....
Meanwhile, the true substance of the malfunction that caused the administration to respond so belatedly to the catastrophe has yet to be explained....
Once the storm passed, everyone began to argue over who had the authority. The governor did not want us so much, administration figures say. They didn't want to come that much, says the governor. But everyone understands that the power is in the hands of the president. And as Thomas Jefferson "bent the Constitution until it nearly cracked" when he decided to buy Louisiana without Congressional approval - because he believed it was a supreme national interest - evidently that is how Bush should have acted, too.
"Hurricane Katrina: The Divisions in American Society Come to Light" - transcript of an online chat with Denis Lacorne, Director of Research at CERI (a Paris think tank) - Le Monde (Paris), 7 Sept 2005
...The upcoming congressional investigation into the mistakes that were made [in responding to Katrina] are sure to note that the President is not the only person with responsibilities, that responsibilities were shared....
But the main responsibility clearly lies with the federal government and with President Bush. Why is Bush responsible? Because he's the one in charge of those organizations that are most capable of acting in a disaster -- the army...and FEMA. Neither organization performed as it was expected to....
"Publicity Storm Alert" (cartoon) - Chosun Ilbo (Seoul), 5 Sept 2005. Korean President Roh and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi draw a lesson from President Bush's experience with Hurricane Katrina and decide they'll have to do better in handling then-approaching Typhoon Nabi.
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