Did politics play a role in Katrina response?
Posted by R. Neal
Here's an interesting quote from an e-mail by former FEMA directory Michael "Heck of a Job" Brown that surfaced during a House investigation into the response:
Here's an interesting quote from an e-mail by former FEMA directory Michael "Heck of a Job" Brown that surfaced during a House investigation into the response:
"This one really has me worried," Brown confided in an Aug. 27 e-mail, as the storm bore down on the Gulf Coast. "I wish a certain governor was from Louisiana ... and his emergency manager," Brown e-mailed Craig Fugate, emergency manager in Florida, where Jeb Bush is governor.This Washington Post article reveals some of the internal politics going on within FEMA and Homeland Security:
"Demote the Under Sec to PFO [Principal Federal Officer]?" an outraged FEMA press secretary Sharon Worthy wrote Brown at 10:54 p.m., soon after Chertoff's decision. "What about the precedent being set? What does this say about executive management and leadership in the Agency?"The Post article also notes gaps in the response to the House's requests for documents from Homeland Security and correspondence with the White House. Sounds like they are setting up a few more "bad apples" to take the fall.
"Exactly," replied Brown, then-under secretary for preparedness and response, according to e-mails obtained by the Washington Post:
3 Comments:
It is painfully obvious that Brown was inept. However, the truth be known, he was certainly no more inept than the NO mayor and LA governor. For us to give 'first responder' responsibility to the Fed is giving up a few more freedoms. LA blew it and is willing to give up some State sovereignty in order to shift the blame.
LR, I think there is some merit to your argument. The left needs to not be so sensitive to party labels that they pull punches where they are deserved, just as the right needs to be sensitive to a complex set of issues so the conversation isn't derailed by sucker punches across party lines.
The reason the US Government is supposed to be first responder is because they have the manpower and expertise. Or they should have the expertise. The NO mayor never evacuated anything before. The Governor had not either. FEMA, on the other hand, should have had tons of experience and should have protected the US Citizens.
I work on bikes for most of my friends because I can do it much better than they or most bike shops can. I make sure they do not try and fix any problems themselves before bringing it to me. It is easier for me to be proactive and fix the problem early, before it becomes a bigger problem. FEMA should have the same attitude- "We are coming to organize your evacuation. Do not start making decisions without us. We know how we want to do it because of our experience."
FEMA was given the authority to step in, and it should. It should also be staffed with people who know what they are doing, like Clinton left it. Bush just screwed it up with political appointees. Funny how the GOP is more concerned that their friends, family and political confederates have a job than they are about the country running well.
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