It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the BP Oil Spill occurred, but the protestors walking through the streets of DC today, as well as the numerous media stories that have been released over the past few days, want to be sure we don’t forget about it. There are a lot of important voices to be heard, but for me, the most important one comes from the man who led the months-long response efforts, Admiral Thad Allen, the former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Last week, he gave an interview to George Altman, a reporter in Washington Bureau chief for the Mobile (Alabama) Press-Register. His comments are typical Allen – to the point, candid and no BS. In other words, they’re refreshing, particularly the part about his thoughts on the political nature of the oil spill when compared to other disasters. Give it a read:
Politics is like the weather, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said. You have to account for it, and it might get in the way of your work, but you can’t stop the rain from falling.
For Allen — who oversaw recovery work after Hurricane Katrina and commanded the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area forces following Sept. 11, 2001 — no time was stormier than last summer, when he led the response to the Gulf oil spill.
“It’s the most political event I’ve ever been involved in. (There’s) not a close second,” Allen said with a light chuckle.
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