Katrina Smoking Gun (or Not)
Remember when the President said he didn't think "anybody anticipated the breach of the levees"? Never mind.
"In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage" obtained by the AP.
Bush didn't ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."
The footage - along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by The Associated Press - show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.
Watch the tape, if you can. It's absolutely gut-wrenching.
UPDATE 10:45 PM: Some of you are already asking, "What does Katrina have to do with defense?" It's pretty self-evident to me. But click here for an explanation.
UPDATE 03/04/06 5:09 PM: The AP issued this clarification to the story yesterday:
In a Wednesday story, The Associated Press reported that federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his Homeland Security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing.
The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun. The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about floodwaters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaking.
The day before Katrina, Bush was told there were grave concerns the levees could be overrun.
It wasn’t until the next morning, as the storm made landfall, that Michael Brown, then head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Bush had asked about reports of breaches. Bush did not participate in that briefing.
To me, the "top" versus "breach" argument is largely semantic; what matters here is that the folks at the top were told in advance how bad Katrina was looking. But, check out the comments, and you'll read a lot of people telling you otherwise.
1. This need not be a Left-Right cage-debate. Bush seems to be backing Hillary, and Willy golfs with Poppy.
2. Problem-Reaction-Solution. Create a crisis (or turn a problem into a bigger crisis). Let the crisis moulder and grow until people scream.
3. Offer a solution: More funding, more power.
Not only was FEMA actively blocking doctors, water, and other aid, private military contractors like Blackwater thugs (www.stangoff.com ret Special Forces) with exclusive contracts acted as private mercs shooting civilians.
Instead of massive federal help -- including people to drive the busses --- NOLA got to experience a military police state drill --- turning one American city into Fallujah.
The same thing was done in Seattle, as Clinton was preparing to turn the US over to Global Govt via NAFTA --- hired "black bloc" thugs who were given free housing and free reign to loot, caused the suspension of normal First Amendment activities by normal citizens, and detention of said mainstream middle class civilians into Sandpoint Naval Brig. A training exercise for the public.
This was why REAL Conservatives hated Clinton -- a dictatorship in the making. But when Bush does the same type of thing, it's glorious.
I've heard and seen that Bush also uses Secret Service and local police to arrest middle aged, middle class dissidents. With this kind of "freedom" who needs to worry about communism?
Posted by: Gary at April 27, 2006 2:19 PM