am i missing something?

I have been a supporter of Obama and his administration. I have understood his effort to be effective and strike a centrist balance in his major reform agendas. Although I have been troubled by the traditional nature of his foreign policy, I do not think there are easy answers to the Iraq or Afghanistan situations, or to the threat of terrorism. But I cannot understand his inaction in the Gulf. Why not mobilize the Army Corp of Engineers, why not send every possible resource there. Something is very wrong. Can someone explain why this is still in the hands of BP? Is the problem so beyond our control that the mobilized resources of the Defense Department, which spends many hundreds of billions a year, has no clue what to do? Unless I am missing something, this is not an acceptable federal response. And it seems like it is too late now. We are watching a tragedy.

Oil

Being neither a geologist, nor an engineer, the thoughts that follow are just that, thoughts.

Is is possible that one accident will destroy the Gulf of Mexico as a living, life supporting, essential natural habitat? It does seem within the realm of possibility.

What seems completely insane is that there seems to be no fail safe way to stop this "leak".

It it awe inspiring that the earth is so complex, and so alive that if you dig a hole in the sea bed of the Gulf Of Mexico, you can unleash hundreds of thousands, and probably millions of gallons of oil from beneath the sea floor. The fact that the pressure of the oil is so great as to be able to overcome the massive pressure of 5000 feet of water boggles the mind. The earth is under tremendous natural pressure.

The giant industrial enterprises are marvels. Electricity, gasoline, heating oil, do not come from nowhere. But there is something frightening about learning, in the harshest light, the danger of enterprises on this scale. One oil rig, one explosion, and an environmental catastrophe on a scale that is unprecedented. What is next?