The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina calls to mind nothing so much as the misadventures of the U.S. and its allies in Iraq. Scenes of widespread devastation and intermittent lawlessness provide evidence of a shocking lack of foresight and preparation as well as an inexplicably slow response to fast-moving events.
Some critics of President Bush’s Iraq policy have tried to make a clearer, more causal, connection, arguing that the damage in New Orleans might have been contained had Louisiana National Guard units currently deployed in Iraq been available. And it seems fair to wonder whether the preoccupation with the war has diverted attention from the critical mission of the Department of Homeland Security to protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks and to plan for relief in the event that disasters, natural or man-made, strike.
But critics of the war are also finding in the New Orleans catastrophe a silver lining that in the end could have unfortunate consequences for much of the developing world. They say that Americans, contemplating the devastation in their South, will conclude that the Bush administration should wrap up its overseas military adventurism. The problem is, for a country that has long swung between interventionist and isolationist impulses, the logic of such a retreat won’t be restricted to war but, potentially, to peace as well. Americans may question why they’re being asked to send billions of dollars in aid abroad, as they are once again reminded that they have such dire poverty at home.
This debate, ironically, will affect few men more than an architect of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Paul Wolfowitz, who became president of the World Bank in June. In this month’s cover story, beginning on page 52, International Editor Tom Buerkle takes a long look at Wolfowitz’s career and his plans for the world’s leading institution for combating poverty. Wolfowitz, who dismisses as a caricature his warmonger image, is directing his formidable intellect and energy to raising living standards globally.
The difficulty in the wake of Hurricane Katrina will be getting -- and keeping -- the attention of the White House, which is likely to be fighting ever-intensifying political battles at home.
