Burma's Katrina Moment

Burma's despots must now be told by the rest of the world that extreme self-sufficiency and isolation is no way to run a modern country that can cope with huge catastrophes, let alone bring prosperity. First lady Laura Bush said as much Monday: "The response to this cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failures to meet its people's basic needs." Long protected by China from any rebuke at the UN, Burma's rulers have suppressed freedom and left their 52 million people in poverty. Many are forced to live in villages along the southern deltas, left vulnerable to cyclones.