David in Sydney Your view of Nagin could not be more wrong. This man is a disaster of epic proprotions. He's George Bush's twin but at the local level. He's incompetent and completely out of his element. Notice in the article where it says he still does not have a plan to rebuild the city after TWO YEARS.

Brian, syracuse, US

Thank you Dave in Washington. Mark in Conway and Bob in Anaheim, should your areas be rebuilt if an earthquake hits? Most of the flooding in Nola happened because of levy failures in the canals that the *Federal* Corp of Army Engineers built and not even to design specification, which they have since admitted. There are just so many facts that the rest of the world does not know about. There is not enough room here to tell you everything. If FEMA was not under the Homeland Security department, that would help the next major disaster, (natural or manmade) aide the victims, one major change that is needed for all of the USA.

Bonnie, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

If David from Sydney were to spend a little time on the ground in New Orleans, he'd get a better feel (literally) for why it was necessary to prevent those hordes of looters from crossing.
Do you think that the massive increase in the murder rate is because of the "gentrification" of New Orleans?
Or perhaps it's because Mayor Nagin's vision of New Orleans staying a "chocolate city" is coming to pass.
Sydney is a good distance from The Big Easy, lucky you.

Hammer, Los Angeles ,

Apparently Mr Nagin doesn't READ! The voters that tried to oust him from his position, were shut down by his web and cellular messages that told any and all prior residents of the New Orleans area that he would Bus them in, they were able to vote online from their location and their votes would be counted.
Now, as far as the residents that were living in the area and stayed or came back home,this was a slap in the face. Many wrote to the local paper that they would not return to the crime and political malfeasance that has continued to grow in New Orleans.If a person is NOT PHYSICALLY residing in a community, supporting that community by paying taxes to it or through an agency to pay the taxes to the community, how were these votes allowed? Absentee votes were the votes Mr.Nagin relied upon. He received them. He won. Now I ask you, How many of those Absentee votes are currently living IN the New Orleans area??? Did they return? Are they going to? What is being done for those who stay?

Alaintha, Hattiesburg, MS

Unless you pay attention to this story day in, day out, which includes talking to people in New Orleans, you really aren't likely to get the facts straight. Case in point: Bob Evans of California. Bob mistakes funds allocated for the entire Gulf Coast with funds spent in one city. His assertion that most Americans "have always recognized New Orleans and Louisiana to be the most corupt...." is just nonsense. To say that contracts let by the Federal government to firms not even located in New Orleans are somehow controlled by the city and state is laughable. Go to New Orleans, Bob. Survey the damage wrought by the failed flood protection. Watch the people trying to rebuild their lives. Better yet, lend a hand. It might give you the humility you are so sadly lacking and the understanding of what has happened and is happening there.

David, Washington, DC

Nagin isn't the problem. Lack of money is the problem. The federal government has not given a single dollar to the City of New Orleans to rebuild the destroyed fire stations, rebuild the destroyed water system, rebuild the destroyed police labs, or rebuild any other critical public infrastructure, despite that this was all destroyed because FEDERAL levees failed (they were NOT overtopped, they collapsed due to design flaws, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has admitted this). The locals are being required to pay the full cost of FEDERAL bungling. Without money, you could have Superman as mayor and the city would still be a shambles.

BT, Lafayette, LA,USA

I can clearly recall those haunting images of (mainly black) New Orleans "refugees" fleeing the rising flood waters only to be met at a bridge by an armed cordon of police and prevented from crossing into a neighbouring county. They will not leave my mind for many years, if ever. The great American nation, beacon of hope and democracy, died that day.

One might ask on what constitutional basis these people were denied entry to a neighbouring county? On whose judicial authority? Further, in the aftermath of the events of Hurricane Katrina, who was disciplined for the behaviours of (so called) "law enforcement" officers towards victims in the days after the flood.

Most importantly, who will ultimately be held accountable and responsible. The American nation blames their President and they are right. As a former President famously declared: "the buck stops here".

David, Sydney, Australia

What the UK and the rest of the world fail to understand is the outrage of most Americans over the corruption that has been the hallmark of New Orleans cleanup. Oh, most Americans have always recognized New Orleans and Louisiana to be the most corrupt City and State in the nation. But what has been done with taxpayers’ $114 BILLION is unprecedented, even by their standards.
Federal Government controls little of that money. Instead, it merely inspects the damage, uses national criteria to estimate the cost of repair and clean up, and authorizes THE CITY AND STATE to spend that amount to have the work performed.
What was found was that previously allocated Federal money for flood control had been squandered in corruption throughout the years, allowing the disaster to happen.
The flood has cost each American $380. For those residents of N.O. to scream demands of “entitlement” is an outrage, when so many of them simply sit on their derrieres and do nothing for themselves.

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California

same way they voted bush in again for a second term after he alongside Britain attacked Iraq and now pakistan..
thats the same way they voted Nagin in again!!!

laureen, Leeds/UK,

Di - You've got to be kidding. Until he uttered those famous words ("pardon my French but I'm p..."), Washington was content to simply ignore the problem in the hope that it would just somehow go away. This was day 4 of the crisis, I believe. It's just unfathomable.

In my view Nagin was a hero that day. He stood up to an ineffectual President like no politician has before, or since.

David, Sydney, Australia

At what point is the anger going to be pointed at Mayor Nagin or Governor Blanco...it is not entirely a federal problem. The state and city messed up more in my eyes. How could they vote Nagin in again?

Di, lansing, mi

While I am not a Bush fan, nor a real Bush basher- in all fairness- BILLIONS of tax dollars iwent from the US government for YEARS to the levee boards in Louisianna to build, repair and maintain the failed levees. The money was squandered, stolen, and frittered away on who knows what. THAT is the THE REASON the LEVEES FAILED. To this day, the Louisianna governments- locally and at the state level will not change the way they manage the levees. The problems persist and always will because of politics and personalities-- and when another storm hits New Orleans will be wiped away again.

While I do not see how we can continue ot pour money in to a foreign war that is a disaster, I personally don't see why we as US citizens should pay to rebuild a city that is essentially built in a place that is LOWER than not just any river- but the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI.

markh, conway, ar

New Orleans should not be rebuilt. This *will* happen again in a few years. I am sure some will be interviewed, when it does, and will say "Can you believe this happened again! - What is the government going to do for ME now?" If I built my house under a large rock held up by twigs and it, one day, crushed it - why would I expect the government to bail me out of a dumb decision - I made - to build a house in such an *obviously* dangerous location!

Tom, willmington,

will go down as one of the three worst presidents in American history, maybe the worst. totally incompetent and the cost to America in so many ways is staggering, like New Orleans,human lifes, human life, the environment, world image, respect for the law.

walter palmer, ny, ny