Should the government take over the oil spill?

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Responding to suggestions that the military
should take the lead in responding to the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the oil
industry is better-equipped to deal with the disaster.

Speaking this morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Adm. Mike
Mullen said the military has looked at equipment it has available
but “the best technology in the world, with respect to that,
exists in the oil industry.”

Mullen also says any decision on the military taking the lead
would come from the president.

The spill, which began after an oil rig exploded off Louisiana’s
coast, is the worst in American history. According to government
estimates, it’s already released between 18 million and 40 million
gallons of oil into the Gulf.

Meanwhile, after repeated failures, BP is making
another attempt to stem the flow of oil gushing from a blown-out
well in the Gulf of Mexico.

This attempt is to contain the leak, not stop it.

It could be August before any real end is in sight. On top of
that — hurricane season begins tomorrow.

Scientists from several universities have reported large
underwater plumes of oil stretching for miles and reaching hundreds
of feet beneath the Gulf of Mexico’s surface, but BP disputes that
finding.