Posted on 09/03/2005 7:19:37 AM PDT by Truthsayer20
Congress Likely to Probe Guard Delay By SHARON THEIMER Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans didn't get the go-ahead until days after the storm struck - a delay nearly certain to be investigated by Congress.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard on Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday.
California troops just began arriving in Louisiana on Friday, three days after flood waters devastated New Orleans and chaos broke out. In fact, when New Orleans' levees gave way to deadly flooding on Tuesday, Louisiana's National Guard had received help from troops in only three other states: Ohio, which had nine people in Louisiana then; Oklahoma, 89; and Texas, 625, figures provided by the National Guard show.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Cutler, who leads the Michigan National Guard, said he anticipated a call for police units and started preparing them, but couldn't go until states in the hurricane zone asked them to come.
"We could have had people on the road Tuesday," Cutler said. "We have to wait and respond to their need."
The Michigan National Guard was asked for military police by Mississippi late Tuesday and by Louisiana officials late Wednesday. The state sent 182 MPs to Mississippi on Friday and had 242 headed to Louisiana on Saturday.
With many states' Guard units depleted by deployments to Iraq, Katrina's aftermath was almost certain from the beginning to require help from faraway states.
Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress are just beginning to ask why one of the National Guard's most trusted roles - disaster relief - was so uneven, delayed and chaotic this time around.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said the situation has shown major breakdowns in the nation's emergency response capabilities. "There must be some accountability in this process after the crisis is addressed," he said.
Democrat Ben Nelson, Nebraska's other senator, said he now questions National Guard leaders' earlier assertions that they had enough resources to respond to natural disasters even with the Iraq war. "I'm going to ask that question again," Nelson said. "Do we have enough (troops), and if we do, why were they not deployed sooner?" President Bush was asked that question Friday as he toured the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast area and said he disagrees with criticism the military is stretched too thin.
"We've got a job to defend this country in the war on terror, and we've got a job to bring aid and comfort to the people of the Gulf Coast, and we'll do both," he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., plans to make oversight of the Defense Department, the National Guard and their assistance his top priority when he returns to Washington next week from an overseas trips, spokesman John Ullyot said Friday.
Bush had the legal authority to order the National Guard to the disaster area himself, as he did after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks . But the troops four years ago were deployed for national security protection, and presidents of both parties traditionally defer to governors to deploy their own National Guardsmen and request help from other states when it comes to natural disasters.
Though slow at the beginning, out-of-state Guard help was markedly increasing by the start of the weekend. As of Friday, nearly half the states had Guard members in Louisiana, boosting the total to at least 5,600 from out of state. Hundreds more were on the way.
Michigan, which was ready to help before the storm began, was sending 500 National Guard troops Friday and Saturday to help with water purification in Mississippi and police duty in New Orleans.
Arizona didn't get a request for military police until Thursday, when it received an urgent message sent to all state National Guards by the National Guard Bureau at the request of Louisiana, said Capt. Paul Aguirre. He said the unit cannot leave Phoenix until Sunday because arriving units must arrive at a pace the receiving end can handle. Among those headed in were several hundred from Wisconsin, where the governor took the unusual step of declaring a disaster outside his state to activate his Guard.
"This was the first time a governor ever declared a natural disaster in another state and activated to that other state," said Gov. Jim Doyle, who issued his order Wednesday. "We were ready to be deployed within 24 hours of that order."
In addition to Guard help, the federal government could have activated, but did not, a major air support plan under a pre-existing contract with airlines. The program, called Civilian Reserve Air Fleet, lets the government quickly put private cargo and passenger planes into service. The CRAF provision has been activated twice, once for the Persian Gulf War and again for the Iraq war. ---
Do you think I don't know that?
I hope you know the difference between a 3, a 4, and a 5 diaster-wise.
It makes ALL the difference in the world.
I made the suggestion that Bush should have taken the initiative and asked Blanco and Nagin immediately if they thought they were way over their heads. I can't say for sure, of course, but I bet they would have praised Jesus and said, "Hey, it's all yours."
You don't have to worry about polls of the general public if both parties are on the same page.
Thank God almighty that you're not in charge.
The problem with the red tape was probably on her end, not Washington's. It probably took three days for them to get her out from under her desk and get her hand steady enough to write her name on the request forms.
Ya it does. We got very very lucky with that breath of warm dry wind at the very last minute. It slowed the storm and shoved it a bit west. Absent that, and the death toll in NO could have been in the tens of thousands. The wind was "only" about 100 mph in NO itself, because it was on the west side of the eye, which is much weaker.
I believe it.
I believe every amazing word in your summary above.
Indeed if I had the power of the gods I would stop all writers across the planet from their scribe, that the syonpsis has been done and here it is.
So why am I biting my fingernails that this is not how the final history will be written?
Why am I already angry that my granddaughter might read some trumped up lying piece of fiction drummed out by yet another ommission commission that recorded what is already her skewed history with that 9-11 report?
Ah....never mind. Let me rant it out.
I'm gonna document it on my own Blog, how's that?
Yes, yours is the truth. Will it become the truth for EVERBODY?
Looks like somebody ought to get their act together. Congress apparently doesn't know how things work outside the Beltway. Or even inside their 10X10 mile compound.
When you're talking about keeping state parks clean, sure. Bush is sort of the parent and the governors and mayors are the kids. Or the general manager and they the sales clerks. Whatever analogy you want to use. Because Bush would have to deal with this once they had verifiably screwed it up, it is an option before Bush to keep the screwed up part to a minimum from the get-go by either suggesting or ordering them to let him handle it.
Why would Bush assume she could do this job? She's an idiot.
I have no idea, but wouldn't be surprised. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they were warehoused in a very expensive facility owned by someone in the mayor/gov/senators family.
Yikes.
Townsend making Blanco look like a genius.. says it all right there.
I second that, thankfully she lost.
And there ends the story: that was the END of the hurricane; the rest was flooding; and that is NOT the fault of George W. Bush.
My source was Col. David Hunt on Friday's "The O'Reilly Factor". O'Reilly stated that Col. Hunt and "his team" (well-connected military, former-military and intelligence personnel) undertook the investigation for Fox News. For any "paper trail" you'll have to call them.
Re-read my comment and the one I was replying to. Bush is the "he" I was talking about. He has the formal authority to command the NG under war or national emergency.
Ya, the flooding was not Bush's fault. The hurricane in fact wasn't either. Good point.
Let me put it to you this way:
What you are saying in effect is that the Corporate CEO should come down to the fax room to make sure the intern can do their job.
AS WELL AS doing their OWN job.
See anything wrong with the above?
Like, it isn't up to the Corporate CEO to ensure the intern can do their job?
During Floyd there was a huge quantity in Rocky Mount!
I want to hear more from Honore (the general commanding the relief effort). My husband served on the same where he was commander in Korea. Apparently he has an extremely "colorful" vocabulary. Hubby was surprised to hear him speaking on Fox today without a single use of the "f" word. ;-)
He had been in contact with them and apparently they didn't ask for the Feds to take over till things were totally out of control
Do note .. the once the Feds & Military took control .. things started to get done
Bottom line is that the local and state officials were in over their heads with dealing with this
You're assuming they'd be upset over Bush taking this out of their hands. I don't know if that's the case. Maybe you're right and they would. But, if they wouldn't mind, a lot of problems could have been solved before they even developed. I'm curious if Bush asked them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.