From the
Whitehouse
On Tuesday [Aug 30], Secretary Of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff Activated The National Response Plan To Ensure That Help Gets To Those Most In Need.
On August 31, 2005, President Bush convened a Cabinet-level task force on Hurricane Katrina response and recovery. Residents of the Gulf Coast states affected by the hurricane have lost loved ones, lost homes, and been displaced from their communities, and they will have the full support of the Federal government.
On Tuesday Chertoff implemented the NRP. On Wednesday Bush ordered everyone in his command to help. Why didn't it arrive until Friday?
According to Chertoff:
On Tuesday they had the following in place: To date, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has deployed more than 50 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, more than 25 Urban Search and Rescue task forces, eight swift water rescue teams, and two Incident Support Teams.
What they didn't have, but were "working on":
FEMA is also working to deliver water, ice, meals, medical supplies, generators, tents, and tarps. There are currently more than 1,700 trucks which have been mobilized to move these supplies into position.
So as of Tuesday they didn't have any water, ice, meals or any of that stuff "in place". They were just starting to move it.
And all of this would be required for the category 5 hurricane that was predicted the prior week on Thursday. So why wasn't it close by?
FEMA and DHS are responsible for coordinating the entire Federal Government's response. Doesn't that include the military as well? Bush specifically ordered that on Wednesday (Aug 31):
The President announced that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will chair the interagency task force while Michael Brown, DHS Undersecretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, is serving as the Administration's lead on the ground.
Bush orders additional military on Saturday:
On September 3, 2005, President Bush Ordered The Department Of Defense To Deploy Additional Active Duty Forces To The Region.
But the Whitehouse is silent on when the first of the military were ordered to New Orleans. Clearly their arrival was what turned the tide.
The DHS has a page on their efforts.
They mention totals, but have no timeline. Understandable under the circumstances.
As directed by the Secretary of Defense and in accordance with the National Response Plan, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is supporting the FEMA disaster relief efforts. NORTHCOM, the lead Department of Defense (DOD) organization for Hurricane Katrina response, is moving and/or mobilizing resources to support FEMA's response and recovery efforts.
NORTHCOM established Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina to act as the military's on-scene command in support of FEMA. Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, commander of the First Army in Fort Gillem, Ga., is the JTF-Commander. JTF Katrina will be based out of Camp Shelby, Miss.
The Department of Defense will make available a fleet of approximately 50 helicopters to support FEMA's operations. Eight civilian swift water rescue teams have been transferred from California to assist with recovery operations.
Based on Honore's arrival on Friday, one would have to believe that the the Secretary of Defense gave the order on Thursday or Friday to deploy federal troops. Maybe it was Thursday because Barbara Starr of CNN was embedded with his group so that there was press coverage of the arrival. That meant there must have been some preparation prior to embarking.
It is obvious who was responsible for making things happen. The President, Chertoff, Brown, and Rumsfeld. That is the list. And their own government web pages show that they were criminally slow to respond.
Didn't Brown tell Chertoff that the levee's broke? Chertoff said he read in the paper that New Orleans dodged a bullet. Brown was the man on the ground at the time. He apparently thought the policy was don't ask, don't tell.
Chertoff should have been all over this. It is his responsibility to get things started with the President and the rest of the cabinet. Even if the levees hadn't broken, this was going to be a huge disaster.
And this, "Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government’s request for help evacuating storm victims didn’t come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees."
In this age of electronics, why does it take a full day for Bush to order his cabinet to respond after Chertoff finally recognizes a disaster? Air Force One must have a phone somewhere. Wouldn't you pick up the phone if people were dying?
Would Rumsfeld need to wait until after the Bush meeting on Wednesday to respond? Couldn't he get things started? Remember Honore arrived on Friday. He doesn't look like he's going to get a command and then sit around doing paperwork before getting on a plane.
I am furious at this lack of responsibility. I can't stand to see good people in such conditions while our "leaders" have meetings and shovel paperwork, pat themselves on the back and organize photo-ops.
It looks to me like Rumsfeld is responsible for the worst of the delay. But all four - Brown, Chertoff, Bush, Rumsfeld are responsible for delays. They are all to blame.
And that is why the Republicans will do anything to avoid or delay an investigation. Anything. We're talking Rove kind of anything. This is going to be ugly. I can't wait!