I never criticized the lack of federal troops.
What I said is that you can not excuse FEMA for not responding until days after the storm when BLANCO asked for a federal response days before the storm. That Blanco conspired to keep FEMA out, or soemhow did not ask for a federal response days before the storm- is a myth.
Federal troops 'to the rescue' is not the only way FEMA has to respond. The point is that they didn't effectively respond. You can't look at their response and call that effective. You can't look at their lack of information and call them prepared. If you think that is not a problem, then I don't know what you think a Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to do.
Twiddle its thumbs and fax forms, I supposed.