From the National Response Plan, under the catastrophic incidents annex:
Federal resources arriving at a Federal mobilization center or staging area remain there until requested by State/local incident command authorities, when they are integrated into the incident response effort."
I think that's pretty clear. Our Republic does not allow the Feds to just swoop in and shove the state and local government aside. Now is not the time to start that precedent; who knows where it would end?
I think that's pretty clear. Our Republic does not allow the Feds to just swoop in and shove the state and local government aside. Now is not the time to start that precedent; who knows where it would end?
To paraphrase LTGEN Honore, "Let's not get stuck on Stupid." You can quote all the legalisms, reuglations, annexes, you want, but that doesn't save lives. Eventually, commonsense has to take over. This is the greatest natural disaster ever to hit this country. The hell with process and the rules. Address the needs of the victims, tend to the paperwork later.
I have worked in the USG bureaucracy for over 36 years. Your response is so typical of what is wrong with the corporate culture and demonstrates why the general public just doesn't understand such thinking. Gorelick's wall, the Able Danger screwup, and the CIA not communicating with the FBI, are just some examples of how the bureaucrats have failed us. We need to change the process if it doesn't work.
So, would they still be sitting there if they were never asked?