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You speak the plain truth!! Here's hoping Farrakan's spaceship gives her a long ride!
Posted on 10/19/2005 1:42:35 PM PDT by cyborg
By DAVID PACE Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended his actions before and after Hurricane Katrina, telling lawmakers Wednesday he relied on Federal Emergency Management Agency experts with decades of experience in hurricane response.
"I'm not a hurricane expert," Chertoff said several times in responding to criticisms from members of a special House panel set up to investigate the dismal federal response to Katrina, which killed more than 1,200 people, flooded New Orleans and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands.
Chertoff, a former prosecutor and Justice Department official, took over the Homeland Security Department in February.
Lawmakers grilled Chertoff about why he stayed home Saturday before Katrina made landfall on Monday, why he made a previously scheduled trip to Atlanta on Tuesday, and why he didn't act more decisively to speed up the federal response.
Chertoff said he relied on former FEMA Director Michael Brown as the "battlefield commander" and focused his efforts on making sure FEMA had all the resources it needed. He said he stayed in telephone contact with the office while at home and during the trip to Atlanta.
"I don't think there was a lack of a sense of urgency," he said.
Chertoff's appearance came as weather forecasters kept a wary eye on Hurricane Wilma, the latest in a host of such storms, as it has grown into one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record. Forecasters said it likely will strike the east coast of Florida with devastating winds by late in the week.
Most of the blame for the federal response to Katrina has fallen on Brown, who resigned last month after Chertoff removed him from direct responsibility for Katrina relief and recovery efforts.
Brown blamed state and local officials in Louisiana for the slow response to Katrina when he testified before the committee last month. Chertoff disagreed.
"From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," he said.
After the levees broke in New Orleans, Chertoff said he became increasingly frustrated with the federal response and decided by the end of the first week to replace Brown with Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen. A week later, he relieved Brown of his duties and ordered him back to Washington.
Wednesday's hearing provided the first opportunity for lawmakers to question Chertoff directly about his role in the response. FEMA was an independent agency before it was folded into the Department of Homeland Security when it was created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The investigation is being conducted by a special committee appointed by House GOP leaders. Democratic leaders, insisting on an independent investigation, have refused to cooperate in what they contend is a too-soft probe of the Bush administration by GOP lawmakers.
Several Democratic congressmen from the affected areas have attended the hearings and questioned witnesses. They were joined Wednesday by Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., who blasted what she called a lack of leadership in the Bush administration's response to Katrina.
Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, objected when McKinney asked Chertoff why he should not be charged with negligent homicide because of the federal response.
When questions "are over the top and not constructive, I don't believe the secretary should waste his time by answering," Bonilla said.
Chertoff did answer, however, declaring the President Bush "was deeply and personally engaged in the process from before the hurricane; I was deeply and personally involved in the process from before the hurricane."
Earlier, Chertoff told the committee that FEMA was overwhelmed by Katrina and must be retooled to improve preparation and response to natural disasters.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
That would explain a lot.
"Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, objected when McKinney asked Chertoff why he should not be charged with negligent homicide because of the federal response."
I'd like to apologize to the country for Cynthia McKinney. I am positive my fellow Goergia Freepers would join me in this.
I am so tired of hearing this lie.
Local governments are responsible for first-response to local emergencies.
The problem the Bush administration faced with Katrina is that New Orleans and Louisiana represent a perfect storm of political correctness, because the mayor is black and the governor is a woman.
No one is allowed to criticise black or female office-holders: to do so for any reason, even if just to tell the truth, is to "prove" that you are a bigot and a sexist.
So the Demo(n)cRATS and the sycophant MSM were free to blame everything on the Bush administration, and no one, not even the Bush administration itself, had the guts to point out the truth.
Brown blamed state and local officials in Louisiana for the slow response to Katrina when he testified before the committee last month. Chertoff disagreed.
Chertoff said:
"From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," he said.
Every time that dingbat opens her mouth it's a circus. Sounds like the "independent" council isn't needed. Every accusation, no matter how loony or unfair will certainly get the attention of the press.
You speak the plain truth!! Here's hoping Farrakan's spaceship gives her a long ride!
According to Brown's bosses, the federal response was dismal. Surely, you don't think Chertoff would fire one of Bush's crony's cronies without Bush's permission, do you?
Most of the blame for the federal response to Katrina has fallen on Brown, who resigned last month after Chertoff removed him from direct responsibility for Katrina relief and recovery efforts.
Brown blamed state and local officials in Louisiana for the slow response to Katrina when he testified before the committee last month. Chertoff disagreed.
"From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," he said.
After the levees broke in New Orleans, Chertoff said he became increasingly frustrated with the federal response and decided by the end of the first week to replace Brown with Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen. A week later, he relieved Brown of his duties and ordered him back to Washington.
Michael Brown did.
And I think most people understood this, it's just the MSM keeps harping on the "failed federal response," rarely if ever mentioning the obvious.
All those who chose not to evacuate should be billed for their rescues.
To the contrary, from what I have seen of Dubya, he can be depended upon to do the politically expedient thing at the expense of the honest thing every time. See Miers, et al.
I have no trouble at all believing that Bush would make a scapegoat of his own mother if it served his purposes.
From what I have seen, Chertoff was the choke point in the federal response, not Brown. Chertoff, like Nagin and Blanco, did not know exactly what their roles were when Katrina hit.
"...dismal federal response to Katrina..."
I am so tired of hearing this lie.
Local governments are responsible for first-response to local emergencies.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1478997/posts?q=1&&page=301
So am I! Could some one send this link to Chertoff?
She should be charged with negligence in her role as a representative. There. Take that McKinney.
Bingo!
IMO, Homeland Security shouldn't be involved with hurricane preparedness or response... it's just another stinking layer of incompetence.
On this much, we agree.
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