Posted by Dinah on November 18, 2005, at 8:41:32
At least if what our Senator Landrieu said is correct.
The war in Iraq couldn't possibly have been the cause of the Army Corps of Engineers levee failure, because levees are just too long term a project for that.
However, according to (Democratic) Senator Landrieu, the White House has told her and Senator Vitter that the country can't afford to approve bills that would allow Louisiana to restore the wetlands and build decent levees to protect us in case of another hurricane because of the cost of the war in Iraq.
Also, the levee sheetpilings weren't driven to eighteen feet on one side, and thirty on the other, of the 17th Street Canal. According to sonar readings by Louisiana State University, pilings were driven ten feet below sea level on the side that failed, and (if the article in the paper is correct which seems hard to believe) six feet below sea level on the side that didn't fail. The canal itself is 18 feet below sea level, leaving me totally perplexed at how anyone could think that pilings shallower than the canal itself could protect the surrounding populace.
I'm hoping these readings are as incorrect as the previous numbers, because designing or building the canal levees in that way is mind boggling.
So, if I (hopefully) discover I'm wrong again, I'll admit that as well.
poster:Dinah
thread:579974
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20050924/msgs/579974.html