Posted on 09/06/2005 5:56:44 PM PDT by bobsunshine
WASHINGTON - The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region - and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.
Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.
Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged. Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."
The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.
Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.
'Time for Blame'
"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."
Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."
"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.
Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.
Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.
The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said Tuesday that Brown should step down.
After a senators-only briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other Cabinet members, Sen. Charles E. Schumer said lawmakers weren't getting their questions answered.
"What people up there want to know, Democrats and Republicans, is what is the challenge ahead, how are you handling that and what did you do wrong in the past," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the administration is "getting a bad rap" for the emergency response.
"This is the largest disaster in the history of the United States, over an area twice the size of Europe," Stevens said. "People have to understand this is a big, big problem."
Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.
Just as a matter of curiousity, would we be knocking our brains out if it weren't for the MSM/Dim machine running interference for a couple of incompetents of the protected classes. A woman governor and a black mayor CANNOT be exposed as negligent or derelict in this disaster. Only Pubbie WASP's are allowed to be criticized. Barf!
If we are going to ask for resignations we should start with the governor and the mayor they are the real idiots here.
Truth be known, you can probably thank your compatriots within the Dimocrat party for this monstrosity. Did you not follow the PC line of thought in my post. Do you think for a minute FEMA created this lunacy out of thin air? Get a grip.
You need to get out more.
FEMA is not a 1sr response agency.
You aint' nothin' but a one trick pony are you?
"Escapees from the asylum perhaps."
Posters from Du perhaps?
"You mean he has no power over FEMA? None whatsoever? Who does run FEMA, then?
He's the FEMA chief. That doesn't mean he knows what he's doing, or that he's collected folks that do, to run ops.
Re: "Bush and the others I mentioned were probably upset. After all, Bush declared the disaster early, because they saw what was coming.
"And you, believing the media spin, are part of the mob stirred up by them that is angry at Brown. Let me guess, you saw him on TV and yelled at him. Am I right?
No. I happen to be one of those folks that knows about these things from all aspects. I made my own evaluation. He's a PR man, that's it. There's nothing to his ability to percieve, understand and handle disasterous events. The only reason folks are led to believe he might be competent is, because of the work and efforts of others. He is incapable of leading others, or influencing hteir behavior to avert their own inevitable failure. That's, because he doesn't grasp the situation.
"Just because recreational television viewers across the country want Brown's head doesn't mean he's doing a bad job or should be fired.
He failed to grasp what was happening and consequently failed to minimize it's effects. His emergency management skills suck and it looks like his staffing suffered, because of that. He is incompetent and let both the folks hit by the 'cane and the Administration down.
I used to work for FEMA and I have been on site within 12-18 hours, but I was NEVER pre-positioned.
Great point. Good posts.. these are troubled times indeed.
LOL! This is a letter from the FEMA director to the HS director during an ongoing catastrophe involving significant loss of life and property and this fool's mind is on image and the propaganda effort. Yeah, I'm stupid. LOL!
Wow.. I wonder what a less-rockin' response would be in your judgement.. No response at all?
Get over yourself, people have a right to disagree with you. Or do you own this message board?
and on Saturday they cut the parish's emergency communications line, leading the sheriff to restore it and post armed guards to protect it from FEMA, Broussard said on "Meet the Press" on NBC.
Which Saturday???
These are the that help people fill out forms for money and aid, not rescue and relief workers
Fired for what? For doing his job? FEMA is not a "first responder". FEMA does not supercede local and state officials, who weren't doing their job to begin with.
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.