Posted on 09/16/2005 4:44:34 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2005 – The military will have a broader role in disaster response, based on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush said in a nationally televised address Sept. 15. "It was not a normal hurricane -- and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it," Bush said. "Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions."
Today, Defense Department officials reported 61,719 active duty and National Guard personnel on the ground or aboard ships supporting relief operations in the Gulf Coast region. Active duty forces now number 14,321, and 45,004 National Guard members are on hand. Another 2,394 personnel are outside the area and ready to assist.
But the president said in retrospect, the response in the hurricane's immediate aftermath would have gone better had the federal government in general and the military services in particular been able to be more deeply involved at the outset.
"It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice," he said.
"Four years after the frightening experience of September the 11th," the president noted, "Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency."
Cities must have clear, up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks, he said. That includes the ability to evacuate large numbers of people in an emergency, and to provide needed food, water and security.
"In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction," Bush said, "the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority."
The president said he's ordered all Cabinet secretaries to participate in a comprehensive review of the government's response to the disaster. "This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina," he said. "We're going to review every action and make necessary changes so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people."
President Bush PING
Do you think this could be used to boost recruiting?
The Left has been using Iraq to put a strain on recruiters nation wide.
Perhaps using the rebuilding of NOLA as a tool for recruiting would help.
Didn't Cindy Sheehan call for the removal of all armed troops today from the areas hit by Katrina?
The Pres should have the expanded power. The solid reasoning behind it, is the gross incompetency and criminal negligence that apparently is rife amongst many states, is a death sentence for citizens.
Score one for responsibility, on the Bush scoreboard...
That's up to Governess Blanco. They'll stay in NO as long as she wants them. It's amazing how little leftists know about our system of government.
Yep! She Called them Illegal Military Occupiers that Invaded Louisiana and New Orleans.
I'm not sure this is such a good idea.
It sure is a shame that one incompetent governor doesn't have the good sense to request federal assistance so now the president wants the authority to subvert any governor's authority.
I hope this is all a Karl Rove trick.
The Federal response could have been / could still be minimized if the Quartermaster, MP, AG, etc. units would revert to NG control and the Armor, Infantry, Cav, FA etc. units were concentrated in the USAR.
This would allow DoD assetts to be "stove-piped" into a disaster area response and would make transfer of command and control more seamless if the emergency was found to exceed state resources, but would not require a federal response without at least giving the locals and state officials a shot at it first.
I have a little knowledge, training and first-hand experience in this area, and despite the show Blanco put on here in the past few weeks, my experience has been that most state officials in this area actually take their jobs seriously and are would be far more competent than the circus Louisiana just put on for the rest of the country.
I would rather drown in a flood than give the likes of kerry that kind of power.
I used to be for state's rights but after seeing blanco refuse federal help then blame them I am for the military taking over.
Only the military has the logistics for this.
Blanco was refusing national guard help from states like michigan. What makes Blanco qualified about which troops to send and what troops to reject. Presidents give generals the power to make logistical decisions but Blanco was making all the logistical decisions on the ground in New Orleans. Blanco took two weeks to waive the rule saying doctors need louisiana licenses to come down.
A huge national disaster should be run by the military. Fed troops should be allowed to search and rescue and go into homes looking for survivors or dead. Now marines are forced to look through windows and can't go in. Marines couldn't go in right away because they had no law enforcement power to defend themselves they should be given that power in a natural disaster.
A governor is not qualified to make military decisions. With all the national guard reporting to the governor and another general reporting to the president you have different chain of commands and confusion. In a disaster like this you need one chain of command.
State's rights in this situation kills.
It doesn't have to be that way...see my #9....
I agree. Dereliction of duty by local and state officials in this disaster does not warrant new presidential or federal powers.
The Federal government's respons was in fact, just fine...despite the blame and the politics. To get the type of effort we now have going in four days on such a wide scale is phenominal. To have had the Coast Guard so intricately involved from day one was phenominal.
We are not going to save everyone in such disasters, no matter what we do, and we are not going to ever be able to respond immediately on such a broad scale. We can plan better and a reveiw and over sight in that area is well called for.
But the answer is not to allow the Executive branch of government, without request or approval by local and state authorities, to come in on their own and take charge as has been bantied about. To order forced evacuations and to bring the military ion without state governor's approval. Short of true national security issues where the scope of the problem or invasion threatens every American (and this did not), we must keep a firm and clear separation of powers.
While we might trust President Bush with such powers...we dare not trust it to anyone who might come along later. It is the anti-thesis of state's rights, state soveriegnty, and the Federal/State sep[eration of powers which is intregal to the basis on which the nation was founded.
I would fight such expanded authority at the federal level tooth and nail. Better to suffer the mistakes of local and state fools, than to compound the issue and open the door for such power, as a default, consolidated in one area of goivernment at the federal level.
That's my opinion on it.
Constitutional principle is involved. Democracy is involved. This is not something you would want when Bill Clinton was (gag) president.
It may appear that the Army screwed the Pooch by concentrating only on the TOOTH and not the TAIL. This issue goes back to Vietnam and was the left's anti-military cost cutting mantra. It has been pushed by the Dems ever since of all events after Tet-68. They were soooooo sure of themselves that the SILLY-Billieans in the careerist positions of Pentagon and the "Think-Tanks" forced it on the military. In fact two of the loudest voices screeching for it were two name you should be familiar with, Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark and Sen (hick! swimmer) Kennedy.
The answer is to hold those local and state officials accountable...to the law were applicable and to the people in all cases.
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And that is exactly the reason that the Feds need the added scope. They do not have to use it, but they can if some scumbag state-level operation like LA comes into play, they can IMMEDIATELY FIX THE PROBLEM. It is a wild-card for the Feds - they can play it if they have too and the responsibility still lies at the state and local level, as it does today.
President is giving the authority to northcom so you don't have to worry about the president making the calls. Northcom should be able to take over when a significant natural disaster looks like it will hit U.S. We already do this for national security terrorist related instances. This should also happen with epedemics requiring logistical expertise only the military has and a unified change of command.
The military should be able to take over when a significant natural disaster could take place.
The military would have called for help from outside states national guard 3 days before the storm. What makes Blanco qualified to make decisions like this. Military in Iraq doesn't have someone like Blanco blocking them from moving troops.
For people that are against the military calling the shots in this type of disaster who do you want making decisions to evacuate and blocking or asking for outside guard help. Do you want someone like General Honoure or Blanco.
We have seen that politicians are bad at making logistical decisions. Only the military has the expertise for that. Military can have buses contracted to evacuate when they see fit not waiting for Blanco.
Military wouldn't have blocked a bridge out of New Orleans. Military wouldn't have waited till the last minute to evacuate. Military wouldn't have left buses to be flooded in a low lying area. Put the decisions in the hands of experts not fools.
I fear my government.
Sorry to say, but General Honore is a blowhard and a bully.
He's cajun and seems to have LA syndrome. Point fingers and bluster.
Frankly I'm surprised that he didn't make it to the scene to give Nagin underwater driving lessons....
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