Disintegration of New Orleans police slowed response: guard commander

AFP ^ | Sep 3, 2005 | Staff

[Anti-Bubba182]

The National Guard was slow to move troops into New Orleans because it did not anticipate the collapse of the city's police force after Hurricane Katrina, the guard's commander said.

Lieutenant General Steven Blum said the New Orleans police force was left with only a third of its pre-storm 1,500-person strength.

Some police had families caught up in the disaster, others were unable to make it back to their precincts because of the flooding, and yet others left their posts after deciding the situation had grown too dangerous.

"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 here.

"Once that assessment was made ... then the requirement became obvious," he said. "And that's when we started flowing military police into the theater."

On Friday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin angrily 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.

But he 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.

"We were pulsing forces in in very degraded infrastructure -- airports had reduced capabilities ... in some cases we only had one road in because of lack of bridges, flooding, loss of infrastructure," he said.

"So we couldn't rush to failure on this thing and we had to take a more measured approach on this thing than any of us wanted," he said.

When it became apparent that disorder in New Orleans should be the most immediate priority, the National Guard waited until they had enough forces in hand to make an overwhelming show of force, he said.

On Friday, while President George W. Bush was touring the stricken city, 1,000 military police and National Guard stormed the convention center where street gangs mixed in with thousands of others awaiting rescue had created a volatile situation, Blum said.

"Had we gone in with a lesser force we may have been challenged, innocents may have been caught in a fight between the guard and military police and those who did not want to be processed or apprehended," he said.

Bush, under intense criticism for the slow federal response, on Saturday ordered an additional 7,000 active duty and reserve ground troops to reinforce the National Guard.

That would raise the level of US military forces committed to the relief effort -- active duty as well as national guard and reserves -- to more than 50,000 by the end of next week.

Blum said that on Saturday there were 27,000 national guard troops in Louisiana and Mississippi. That number will grow to about 40,000 within the next week, he said.

There were varying estimates of the number of active duty troops already in the area as part of the relief of operations before Bush's order.

Major General Joseph Inge, deputy commander of the US Northern Command, put the number of active duty forces already on the ground at nearly 5,000 while Blum estimated the active force at 7,000, including sailors aboard navy ships.

The additional troops ordered in from the active force include 2,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, 2,700 from the 1st Cavalry Division and 2,000 from the 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Forces.

[calreaganfan]

"Censorship can only be done by the Gov't."

The above is not true. The TV networks have censors. Hollywood films were censored for many years--by a production code. Neither is/was done by the gov't.

[Wormwood]

The TV networks have censors. Hollywood films were censored for many years--by a production code.

Technically, what you are describing is editing

True censorship requires the force of law behind it.

[Howlin]

I've loved them all!

[stocksthatgoup]

Relax......as you no doubt have access to many fine items of interest we will look forward to your many future posts.

[calreaganfan]

"Technically, what you are describing is editing."

I guess that's why the TV networks call them censors. It's not editing. The censors literally stand by to bleep out any unwanted comments.

[mdmathis6]

You came in in Nov. 2004....they definitely had rules then!

[stocksthatgoup]

"Hey, What about me?" (/sarcasm)

[kublia khan]

now that's funny

[Wormwood]

I guess that's why the TV networks call them censors.

The networks don't even call them censors, but use the term "Standards and Practices". Only the uneducated use the term, 'censor' when describing voluntary restraint.

Only a government can truly censor you.

[Howlin]

Main Entry: ¹cen·sor
Pronunciation: 'sen(t)-s&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from censEre to give as one's opinion, assess; perhaps akin to Sanskrit samsati he praises
1 : one of two magistrates of early Rome acting as census takers, assessors, and inspectors of morals and conduct
2 : one who supervises conduct and morals: as a : an official who examines materials (as publications or films) for objectionable matter b : an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful
3 : a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness

[pollyannaish]

Hey! I bet it's Karl Roves fault. He's trying to make the Iraqi police force appear more stable.

[Keith in Iowa]

Rule of holes: When you're in one, quit diggin'...

[advance_copy]

Some Bush-bashers are now starting to say that stories of violence and chaos were just rumors being used to cover for delays in evacuation and provision. But here is just a brief sample of reports over the last week:

New Orleans in Anarchy With Fights, Rapes

NEW ORLEANS (9/2/05) -- New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday as corpses lay abandoned in street medians, fights and fires broke out, cops turned in their badges and the governor declared war on looters who have made the city a menacing landscape of disorder and fear.

Looting Escalates in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (9/1/05) -- With thousands feared dead and the city's remaining residents told to evacuate for weeks, conditions deteriorated further in submerged New Orleans as looting spiraled out of control... "They are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas — hotels, hospitals, and we're going to stop it right now," Nagin said Wednesday.

New Orleans thugs rape, loot and shoot

NEW ORLEANS (9/2/05) -- An explosion jolted residents awake early today, illuminating the pre-dawn sky with red and orange flames over the city where corpses rotted along flooded sidewalks and bands of armed thugs thwarted fitful rescue efforts. Congress was rushing through a $10.5 billion aid package, the Pentagon promised 1,400 National Guardsmen a day to stop the looting.

Looting Takes Place in View of La. Police

NEW ORLEANS (8/30/05) -- With much of the city flooded by Hurricane Katrina, looters floated garbage cans filled with clothing and jewelry down the street in a dash to grab what they could. In some cases, looting on Tuesday took place in full view of police and National Guard troops.

This would not have happened had there been an effective police force operating in the city. A workable local emergency plan likely would have prevented the breakdown in order. Sadly, none existed, but that is not the responsibility of the federal government. Without basic security, federal and volunteer relief workers could not move into New Orleans and save the innocent.

The U.S. government worked their way through a hurricane ravaged region the size of Great Britain and then through the anarchy that had emerged in New Orleans. They've evacuated that city now in less than five days since the flood waters started rising. They deserve America's gratitude, not condemnation, for this accomplishment and for their accompishments to come.

[mdmathis6]

Listen...its early in the morning..you are tired lay off and go to bed. Don't get your-self banned!

[nopardons]

Hollywood films WERE, indeed, censored by the government As far back as WW I. And in the late 1930s, it was the government, who devised the production code, via a committee they set up. Privately, the Roman Catholic church also had a censorship device in place.

The Federal Government,as well as separate states, had, since the beginning of this nation, laws which not only censored written pornography, but also what was and was not allowed to be said on stage, in a play. BLUE LAWS is not just the name of an old band!

Not only are you a whiny, arrogant, thumb your nose at the rules poster, but you're rapidly approaching Crazy Cindy Sheehan status on this thread. If you're a Conservative, then I'm the Queen of England.......VICTORIA REGINA !

[Wormwood]

LOL!

[calreaganfan]

"You came in in Nov. 2004....they definitely had rules then!"

I posted many, many articles about the 2004 election without having to use the biased news service headlines (AP, Reuters, AFP). If these rules were in effect then, they certainly weren't enforced.

[pollyannaish]

That is interesting. CYA mode?

I suspect the full story is yet to be told.

[lepton]

What are the penalties for law enforcement officers who abandon their duties during a situation like this?

Dismissal. It is quite firmly established (for more than a century) that the police have no responsibility to do much more than make records of criminal complaints. They are not under any legal obligation to protect you.

[Wormwood]

If these rules were in effect then, they certainly weren't enforced.

Even if that were true, it does not change the fact that these rules are being enforced now.

For the love of all the gods, drop it already.