I actually think there is a lot of common sense in what Hastert said. Pity his press secretary had to rush in to say he REALLY didn't say it.
BUT: while people have always known NO was in an extremely vulnerable location, always vulnerable to flood, hurricane, disease, fires, etc., from the earliest days economics trumped viability.
No way was there not going t o be a major city and port at the mouth of the Mississippi. When oil was found, that was added to the economic mix. City has been destroyed & rebuilt many many times since its founding.
Nobody has addressed this, but I know that if I were a terrorrist and I am watching what is going on in New Orleans right now, a major light bulb would be going off. Look at what they could have done if they sent one of the airplanes to a levee in NO instead of the WTC. I bet the levees could be breached with a bomb. They would have to be nuts to rebuild, not just because of the risk of another hurricane, but any city protected by levees is a terrorist target right now.