To the Point

Did America Need Katrina to Get Ready for Rita?

Traffic is fairly smooth today going back into cities in Texas, but Louisiana wants billions of federal dollars to help recover from two major storms. President Bush says he'll open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if that's needed to keep gasoline prices down. He's proposed a greater role for the military when it comes to disaster and is still considering the appointment of a so-called federal disaster -Tsar." When it comes to disaster, does the US respond better than it prepares? Do business leaders think farther ahead than elected officials? If the military had a bigger role, would Americans listen? We speak with journalists, experts in psychology, anthropology, decision making and risk analysis. Making News: Hurricane Rita Is Gone, but What's Left Behind? The failure to be prepared for Katrina was a lesson for officials in Texas, but the massive evacuation of Galveston, Houston and other cities took a toll of its own. Cathy Booth-Thomas, Dallas Bureau Chief for Time magazine, discusses special problems faced by elderly evacuees, and looks at the attempts thousands to return home. Reporter's Notebook: The IRA Decommissions Its Weapons In Belfast today, Canadian General John de Chastelain declared today that that the Irish Republican Army has -put beyond use" one of Europe's largest illegal arsenals. Reverend Harold Good, the Methodist minister who acted as a Protestant witness, agreed that conclusion is -beyond doubt." Will this mean the end to 30 years of bloody violence? We ask Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor of the Irish Times, who joins us from Belfast.