Letter: Bush has done well despite his critics

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005 | 8:25 a.m.

It has been firmly established that the president ordered the invasion of Iraq based on the best intelligence he had available. If Mr. Bitts had ever been in the military, and had to act on an intelligence report, he would understand that all a commander can do is act on the best intelligence he has. And the fact the majority of that intelligence information was developed on the former administration's watch seems to elude Mr. Bitts.

Mr. Bitts must have been asleep when it was proven that the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana had a few holes in their emergency response plans. Does he expect the president of the United States to have a hands-on response to every possible scenario of disaster that can happen to every city in the United States?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a charter that does not allow it to act until a request is made by a governor. When the chief of FEMA and the director of the Red Cross offered help to the governor of Louisiana, it was summarily rejected. When people who couldn't evacuate were told to take a week's worth of food and water with them to the Superdome, they ignored the request. This is the reason the Democrats have stopped demanding an investigation. It would only prove FEMA, and the federal government, did all it could under the circumstances.

Bitts seems to be nothing more than a Bush hater with a one-track mind.

Richard St. John Las Vegas