This is a lie. I taped the following report on FoxNews Tuesday evening.
click the pic to watch the video
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005
There was no delay in getting help to New Orleans
Posted on 09/03/2005 4:07:38 PM PDT by HAL9000
NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - A top New Orleans police officer said that National Guard troops sat around playing cards while people died in the stricken city after Hurricane Katrina.New Orleans deputy police commander W.S. Riley launched a bitter attack on the federal response to the disaster though he praised the way the evacuation was eventually handled.
His remarks fuelled controversy over the government's handling of events during five days when New Orleans succumbed to lawlessness after Katrina swamped the city's flood defenses.
The National Guard commander, Lieutenant General Steven Blum, said the reservist force was slow to move troops into New Orleans because it did not anticipate the collapse of the city's police force.
But Riley said that for the first three days after Monday's storm, which is believed to have killed several thousand people, the police and fire departments and some volunteers had been alone in trying to rescue people.
"We expected a lot more support from the federal government. We expected the government to respond within 24 hours. The first three days we had no assistance," he told AFP in an interview.
Riley went on: "We have been fired on with automatic weapons. We still have some thugs around. My biggest disappointment is with the federal government and the National Guard.
"The guard arrived 48 hours after the hurricane with 40 trucks. They drove their trucks in and went to sleep.
"For 72 hours this police department and the fire department and handful of citizens were alone rescuing people. We have people who died while the National Guard sat and played cards. I understand why we are not winning the war in Iraq if this is what we have."
Riley said there is "a semblance of organisation now."
"The military is here and they have done an excellent job with the evacuation" of the tens of thousands of people stranded in the city.
The National Guard commander said the city police force was left with only a third of its pre-storm strength.
"The real issue, particularly in New Orleans, is that no one anticipated the disintegration or the erosion of the civilian police force in New Orleans," Blum told reporters in Washington.
"Once that assessment was made ... then the requirement became obvious," he said. "And that's when we started flowing military police into the theatre."
On Friday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin denounced the slow federal response as too little, too late, charging that promised troops had not arrived in time.
"Now get off your asses and let's do something and fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country," the mayor said in remarks aired on CNN.
Blum said that since Thursday some 7,000 National Guard and military police had moved into the city. President George W. Bush on Saturday ordered an additional 7,000 active duty and reserve ground troops.
Blum said any suggestion that the National Guard had not performed well or was late was a "low blow".
The initial priority of the Louisiana and Mississippi National Guard forces was disaster relief, not law enforcement, because they expected the police to handle that, he said.
The police commander was unable to give a death toll for New Orleans.
"We have bodies all over the city. A federal mortuary team was supposed to come in within 24 hours. We haven't seen them. It is inhumane. This is just not America."
Riley said he did not even know how many police remained from a normal force of 1,700.
"Many officers lost their homes or their families and there are many we have not heard from. Some officers could not handle the pressure and left. I don't know if we have 800 or thousands today."
I'd consider that little statement to be a sufficient ticket for one loudmouthed SOB to get a free dental arrangement courtesy of any OIF vet.
Damn it all, I am more and more thinking of putting my wallet back in my pocket and wondering if I've already done too much enabling of this kind of attitude already.
It takes at least several days for the Feds to move in completely, it is the job of the state and local governments to hold the fort in the meantime. That is the way it has always been, and always will be.
I get really tired of hearing Peter blame Paul and vice versa as to who did the most and the least. There's plenty of time for criticism and investigation AFTER the fact.
ALL of these "Officials" need to shut the hell up and put their efforts into restoring order and getting supplies in and getting people out.
If they had spent half as much energy doing as they have done bitching, the city would be secure already.
On the other hand, I do have to blame any leader who allows his troops to sit around doing nothing, when he could very easily have gone to the police chief and the mayor and said "We're here, how can we help NOW."
You dolt. ("police chief") YOU were supposed to be in charge, which you weren't. The Guardsmen were waiting for orders from you, which you didn't give. What were they supposed to do?
It has put me into a mode I do not wish to contemplate.
Let's face it. Louisiana was the worst possible state out of the 50 to have a disaster in, and it's not even close.
Not all of them.
Family escapes storm, worries for friends
Carr said he has remained in contact via the Internet with friends in New Orleans, many of them police and rescue workers.
"A lot of policemen are dead," Carr said. "They sent the second shift home Sunday night and told them to just come back for the regular shift the next day. The officers were text messaging that they were trapped in their homes."
No, the "compassionate conservative" W will let the media slam his approval rating down another 10 points over this like they did to his father after Hurricane Andrew. Like the dogs they are, they always go back to their vomit.
"Some of them were at WalMart."
There was video the other night from a reporter camped out with some cops on their roof (the night that rail cars causght fire). Shooitng at them, shots returned, etc.
One of the cops the next morning was shouting at the camera speaking to the cops that deserted "you cowards, you took an oath to the sitizens of this city, you don't have the honor required to ever wearing a badge again, etc.
The other was a lady cop who said something like "phase 1 was the hurricane and disaster, phase 2 is right now trying to survive the thugs, phase 3 will be in the future when we need to someone go back to dealing with these people with compassion and a mindset of service. (or something to that effect - i don't think she used the word compassion exactly) "Phase 3 is going to be the hard part."
This whole thing is coming apart like a two dollar watch. Can't anyon STFU and go to work?
Damn these fools make Rudy look good.
Damn it all, I am more and more thinking of putting my wallet back in my pocket and wondering if I've already done too much enabling of this kind of attitude already
EXCELLENT point. Time to stop enabling Govt incompetence. Say Boss Nagel and his posse. Just what DID all the Federal Dept. of Homeland Security money given to cities like N.O. to supply 1st Responders and develop Diaster Contingency Plans BUY me?
Thousands dead because they couldn't leave the city
Well done commander! Being paid by the citizens of New Orleans to whine like a b!tch at the feds for not doing your job!
I wonder if the National Guard refused to go in before Blanco's "shoot to kill" order, in order to be able to defend themselves from the criminals.
That's exactly right. National Guard troops move on the order of the Governor of the state. The only exception is when they are federalized by the President- that is, ordered into federal service.
What a disgustng statement that speaks volumes about NO's emergency planning: It was nothing but fantasy and excuses. On what basis did he expect the federal government to respond in 24 hours? Was that really written down in their emergency plan? No way -- NO sane and competent federal reviewer would have accepted that number, it is way out of practical reality and the response to disasters over the last few decades. A emergency plan MUST be realistic and rely for basis on what has been done in the past and not what might be done if everything goes just perfect plus.
Fortunately President Bush isn't concerned about his legacy, his concerned about results. Let the historians in their armchairs yab all they want.
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