Government Stops Red Cross from Entering New Orleans

I did not see the Red Cross in all the pictures of New Orleans broadcast over the past week.  Where were they?!!  Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek points us to the incredible answer:

According to
the Disaster FAQs section of the American Red Cross’s website:

Hurricane Katrina:
Why is the Red Cross not in New
Orleans?

• Access to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local
  authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot
  enter New Orleans against their orders.

• The state Homeland Security Department had requested–and continues to
  request–that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following
  the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage
  others to come into the city.

It’s one thing for the government to be incompetent, this I expect.  But then get the F. out of the way.  People are dying.