Ringside Politics With A Punch

In the five years of the Iraq War, thousands of innocent civilians and brave members of the American military have been killed in the violent struggle for the future of that country. Iraq has been a central focus of this country in the worldwide battle against terror. Our leaders have been trying to determine a way to reduce the violence so that our forces can be reduced, civilians can feel safer and the Iraqi military can take more control of the situation.

 
While the free world has been focused on reducing the violence in Iraq, not enough has been done to reduce killings on the streets of one of the premier cities in the world, New Orleans. Yes, Baghdad is extremely dangerous, but so is New Orleans. For the past two years, New Orleans has been designated as the Murder Capital of the Nation. Despite a greatly reduced post-Katrina population, New Orleans registered 162 murders in 2006 and 209 murders in 2007, making it a higher per capita murder rate than pre-Katrina.  
 
So far this year, there have been at least 60 murders, maybe more. Unfortunately, citizens do not have access to complete information about the crime problem. The New Orleans Police Department has not released comprehensive crime figures to the local media, so citizens of New Orleans have no clear idea how many people have been killed and where the violence is taking place.
 
We do know that in the last week there has been a horrific spike in violence. At least seven people have been killed and several of them were targeted in broad daylight. The murders happened throughout the city in diverse neighborhoods, shocking and scaring stunned citizens. The brazenness of the criminal element in New Orleans is appalling.
 
What is being done? Who knows what Mayor Ray Nagin is doing about anything, since he has been largely absent from the public spotlight since returning from a junket to China earlier in the month. Back in January of 2007, thousands of people marched on the streets of New Orleans to demand action in the battle against violent crime. In response, Mayor Nagin promised to tackle the murder rate and make it his primary mission in office. Since that time, there has been some rhetoric and some news conferences, but the murder rate has increased.
 
Why bring up this situation? Well, as New Orleans hosted the North American Leaders Summit this week. During the visit, security was tight, the city looked clean and the homeless population was nowhere to be seen along the major thoroughfares of downtown New Orleans. The city looked clean and safe, without any “undesirables” roaming around.
 
When the international media left, the city returned to its normal self, still facing a host of pressing issues, most importantly a crime problem that shows no signs of abating. While it is encouraging that the President hosted the leaders of these North American countries in New Orleans, it would have made more of an impact on New Orleans if he had made a real commitment to help the city deal with the surging crime problem.
 
The President did not see the real problems of New Orleans during his sheltered visit. He dined at fancy restaurants and spent time cloistered in meetings with the North American leaders. He talked about the city making progress in its recovery, yet the crime crisis overwhelms everything else that is happening in New Orleans. This summit provided a modest economic benefit in the short term, but the only way for New Orleans to recover in the long term is to effectively address its number one problem, violent crime.