BBC: New Orleans crisis shames Americans [View All]

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New Orleans crisis shames Americans
By Matt Wells
BBC News, Los Angeles
Last Updated: Saturday, 3 September 2005, 08:43 GMT 09:43 UK

At the end of an unforgettable week, one broadcaster on Friday bitterly encapsulated the sense of burning shame and anger that many American citizens are feeling.

The only difference between the chaos of New Orleans and a Third World disaster operation, he said, was that a foreign dictator would have responded better.

It has been a profoundly shocking experience for many across this vast country who, for the large part, believe the home-spun myth about the invulnerability of the American Dream.

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But what the devastating consequences of Katrina have shown - along with the response to it - is that for too long now, the fabric of this complex and overstretched country, especially in states like Louisiana and Mississippi, has been neglected and ignored.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4210674.stm