On his way to the Gulf Coast this morning, President Bush said the Federal response to the devastation is “not acceptable.” I tend to agree. But I also think all of us need to have some perspective.
I am as frustrated as anyone of the images of desperation in New Orleans on television this week. But roads are flooded, bridges are destroyed, and citizens are shooting at rescue workers and their fellow citizens. Even former New Orleans Mayor Sidney Bartholemy just said on FOX News that the levee system was not designed to deal with anything stronger than a Category 3 hurricane because, “the odds of a 4 or 5 hitting were so low.”
So in a burst of frustration I asked PatriotPartner last night…. “why didn’t Bush just send in the Marines immediately?” And he responded with more logic than my passion sometimes gives me.
Because the Governor of Louisiana has to ask.
Yep, that’s right folks… we do have a Federal system. The Armed Forces do not just march into communities without being asked by state or local officials. It is part of the Constitutional protections and one of the reasons that civilians run our military decision-making.
So I give all of the blame needed to Homeland Security and the President from this point on. But I have some other questions…..
When is a “mandatory evacuation” really mandatory? Shouldn’t Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin have asked for Federal troops to force people out of the city? Or was this a politically-correct “mandatory evacuation”?
I “get it” that a lot of the stranded are poor and without transportation. So why didn’t the city, when Nagin ordered a “mandatory evacuation,” line up buses in the poor neighborhoods and have police force people on? And obviously not only the poor ignored the “mandatory evacuation”… because I assume Fats Domino had some means to get out. If my mayor said “mandatory evacuation”…. I would get out! But if I couldn’t, shouldn’t the City and State (and *asking* for Federal help) force people out with buses and trucks? Remember, the Marines can’t just jump in to force people out of their homes… the Governor had to ask!
When is martial law really martial law? At this point, there are reports that New Orleans Police are “turning their badges in” and walking away from their distressed city. Are you kidding me? New York Police ran *into* the burning World Trade Center. What is wrong with NOPD? Corruption. We all know it. Someone needs to say it.
By now it is clear to any honest observer, that New Orleans simply didn’t plan for the disaster that everyone said was coming. I agree with Dan… the time for blame is later. But the Mayor screeching at the President in front of cameras, and Governor Blanco looking like a deer in the headlights, cannot give the residents of New Orleans any comfort. It doesn’t seem like we are having the same level of violence and chaos in Mississippi and Alabama. Why is that? For one, Gov. Barbour is a confident leader, unlike his counterpart in Baton Rouge.
The grown-ups need to take charge on the ground in New Orleans. If Mayor Nagin can’t figure out how to do anything but pop out and make press statements, then I think this suggestion from US Rep. John Sweeney is a good one. Get Rudy to New Orleans!
Finally, as proud as I was of my fellow Americans after 9/11, I am so angry and frustrated with the descent into hell that New Orleans became so quickly. You can bet that al-Qaeda is taking copious notes about this week’s events. I sure hope Homeland Security Chertoff is writing furiously as well.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com
The Governor does need to ask, but if you look at the official process, it’s absurd. The governor can’t just wave a flag or call them up, there is a process to do that and it’s a bit idiotic in a situation where there is no power and communication is down that it has to be so official. But I guess there is a good reason why it works that way. I dont’ think it worked very well in this situation.
I have read with great pride the writings of my son, GP. We lived and he was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and he has always felt loyalty to that State.
Apparently, the Mayor and Governor were simply talking to each other and no one else. They presented a very confident picture before the hurricane, but now, GOOD GRIEF, GP IS RIGHT, I DO BELIEVE THAT I AM SEEING FOR THE SECOND TIME THE MAYOR OF A LARGE CITY , “DO IN” HIS OWN PEOPLE. I WATCHED AS MAYOR WILSON GOODE ORDERED BOMBS DROPPED ON HIS OWN PEOPLE’ AND I HAVE WATCHED AGAIN IN HORROR AS MAYOR “NOGGIN” DID THE SAME THING.
In any regular situation, Britton, you would be correct. However, rules had already been waived. Disaster declarations are not to be made without direct application from a state’s executive officer and, usually, after the disaster occurs. Yet President Bush actually issued the declaration before Katrina even made ladfall. Had Blanco even thought of requesting help with the evacuation, given the President’s plea to start an evacuation, you know she would have received it. More proof, the act covering federal disaster aid is meant to be “…supplemental…” to all LOCAL and STATE aid. This President has already said that we, as a country, will take care of 100% of such aid.
Wow….it’s good to see you both, PatriotMom and PatriotPartner!
Patriot this, patriot that. It’s all just so…Stalinist.
The MARINES could’ve handled this on the second day; they conduct business by air, land and sea. That is what they are trained to do 24/7 so why did we wait so long? If Bush offered federal finds and resources before the hurricane, then why was everyone in LA standing around scratching their heads waiting for the Governor to ask?
Next time, just send in the MARINES IMMEDIATELY!
SILENCE EQUALS DEATH! ACTION CURES FEAR AND SAVES LIVES!
Welcome PatriotMom. We have to talk. But first a question for you: is yours a longtime, proud Republican family?
Next time, just send in the MARINES IMMEDIATELY!
LFB, I think you missed the point…..that’s ILLEGAL.
And there’s this pesky little thing called the Posse Comitatus Act.
why was everyone in LA standing around scratching their heads waiting for the Governor to ask?
Because the law forbids the feds from taking this kind of action without the express request/consent of the state(s) involved.
Where did Mom go?
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003458.htm
MEMO TO BUSH: FIRE MICHAEL BROWN
By Michelle Malkin · September 04, 2005 08:17 AM
During his visit to Mobile, Ala., on Friday, President Bush singled out Michael D. Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for praise:
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
Really? “Brownie’s” job is to direct the federal response to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Let’s review his public statements during the past week:
– He admitted that he didn’t act more aggressively because as late as last Sunday he expected Katrina to be a “standard hurricane” even though the National Weather Service in New Orleans was already predicting “human suffering incredible by modern standards.”
– He proved himself utterly clueless about the disaster unfolding in New Orleans. He claimed that the federal relief effort was “going relatively well” and that the security situation in New Orleans was “pretty darn good.”
– He blamed the flood victims in New Orleans for failing to evacuate on time, even though local authorities failed to make municipal vehicles available to residents who could not drive or did not own their own cars.
“It took four days to begin a large-scale evacuation of people stranded in the Superdome stadium and to bring in significant amounts of food and water to an American city easily accessible by motorway,” the Observer notes. “Relief agencies took half that time to reach Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami. ”
Although the delay was not entirely the fault of the Bush Administration, Brown’s complacency clearly didn’t help. And his bumbling statements after the hurricane struck have not inspired confidence.
This is not the time to give a weak performer the benefit of the doubt. The FEMA director’s role in the ongoing recovery effort is too important to be entrusted to a clueless political hack with such poor judgment.
Rather than praise Michael Brown, Bush should fire him.
***
Update, 9:15am: Brendan Loy has a superb post about Brown’s failure to anticipate the enormity of Katrina (hat tip: Glenn Reynolds):
No one — NO ONE — who knows anything about New Orleans’s geography and topography and levee system would ever have thought for a single moment on Saturday and Sunday that Katrina, if it followed the predicted path, was going to be a “typical hurricane situation.” Jesus Christ!! For how many years now has this article been out there?!? And this one? And many more like them? Did Michael Brown never read them? Was he not familiar with the science? Was FEMA’s director unaware of what has been acknowledged for many years as the #1 most serious natural disaster threat in all of America?!?
9:45am EDT: Brown is being criticized on FOX News Sunday. “He has a lot to answer for,” says Bill Kistol. “He clearly did not know what was going on.”
TrackBack