Posted on 01/18/2006 7:39:24 PM PST by NormsRevenge
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. - Former FEMA Director Michael Brown on Wednesday accepted a greater share of the blame for the government's failures after Hurricane Katrina, saying he fell short in conveying the magnitude of the disaster and calling for help.
"I should have asked for the military sooner. I should have demanded the military sooner," Brown told a gathering of meteorologists at a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada.
"It was beyond the capacity of the state and local governments, and it was beyond the capacity of FEMA," said Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Brown's remarks Wednesday stood in contrast to his testimony at a congressional hearing in September, when he blamed most of the government's failures on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin — both Democrats.
He specifically targeted them for failing to evacuate New Orleans, restore order and improve communication.
"These are not FEMA roles," Brown told the congressional committee. "FEMA doesn't evacuate communities. FEMA does not do law enforcement. FEMA does not do communications."
In an interview after his speech Wednesday, Brown told The Associated Press: "I think it's important to realize that all of us made mistakes. ... After a while you get a different perspective."
He added: "I still do believe that things weren't working too well down there."
He also told the gathering of broadcast and National Weather Service meteorologists that he failed to delegate responsibility, saying he tried to attend to the details himself.
"It was the largest natural disaster ever to strike the United States — 92,000 square miles. Logistics were falling apart," he said.
Before joining FEMA in 2001, Brown was an attorney, held local government posts and headed the International Arabian Horse Association. President Bush appointed him to head the agency in April 2003.
FEMA came under fire immediately after Katrina struck the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines Aug. 29, killing more than 1,300 in five states and leaving some 3,200 unaccounted for.
He was relieved of his command in the stricken region and recalled Sept. 9 to Washington. Brown resigned three days later, saying he feared he had become a distraction.
Asked on Wednesday if he felt he had been railroaded out of his post, Brown replied: "I'm moving on."
He said his biggest concern was the current emphasis on reorganizing FEMA, particularly in light of past budget cuts that had left hundreds of vacancies in an agency with 2,500 employees.
"It's time to stop organizing and get FEMA back to what it was before — get its budget back up to where it was."
Spank yourself hard, Michael.
We all know no one in Louisiana was responsible for any of it.
Louisiana Congressman, William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, left, and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, appear before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development meeting in New Orleans Friday afternoon Jan. 13, 2006. The subcommittee came to New Orleans to discussing the housing problems caused by Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
I realize Brown made some mistakes .. and correct me if I'm wrong .. but wan't it Blanco's responsibility to ask for the military?
"I should have know better than to counted on those idiots for anything" -- Brown
Correct.
State Gubinor Blank-O diddled and did no one any favors by failing to fulfill a key assigned duties and request military assistance or at least get the ball rolling before the smit hit the fan..
It sounds like a number of officials were encouraging her to do so, but..
duties = duty
It is also my understanding that it is up to the governor of a state to make
a request for military help.
IN HINDSIGHT, Brown's real mistake was not making a call like this:
"Governor Blanco, your signed request for military assistance should be
coming out of my FAX machine in 60 minutes.
Because if it doesn't, 61 minutes from now, I'll be issuing a press release
about your failure to act."
Agree!
where is this coming from, at this late date?
Blanco refused out of state help from florida and michigan national guard.
Blanco blocked red cross.
Blanco waited forever for an evacuation order.
Blanco's staff was worried about bush's poll ratings.
Blanco refused out of state doctors and vets
Blanco blocked salvation army going to the superdome.
Broussard,blanco, and nagin were disasters
Federal troops couldn't go to new orleans when the mayor was saying there was great violence. Federal troops have no law enforcement power.
This is not to say I like Brown though.
Can't he just go away and shut up stop helping the incompetent third world country dems in louisiana.
Nagin is taking heat finally and now is the time Brown has to give him some releif.
Too bad he didn't retire a few months earlier so there could have been more concentration on broussard who had the drainage workers leave for the hurricane.
Blanco didn't issue an evacuation until the last second.
Blanco had the company looking for bodies stop in october.
Damn brown for rearing his head again when nagin was finally taking heat.
Brown has zero control over the military.
Every national guard officer reports to the governor not brown.
You need national guard in a law enforcement situation because posse comitatus bars the military.
This is brown getting back at Bush. Brown's name had finally disappeared. So just when nagin is finally taking heat guess who reappears.
What is so frustrating about katrina is if bush declared martial law dems would be asking for impeachment. Since bush didn't do that and fed troops couldn't go there in a violent situation dems blame him too.
Brown is clueless. The governor is in charge of asking other states for national guard help.
The governor is the commander and chief of her state. She has more power than the president in her state.
The locals were lying like crazy. Broussard was making up lies on national tv. Nagin was lying. Blanco was lying.
Brown please go away and STFU. Every time you reappear you take the heat off of the state run democrats.
I think President Bush was being set up from the start!
That is the way I understand Fema works - the Gov. and Mayor make the calls first - and if Fema had gone in before requested George W. Bush would be in impeachment hearing now. The dems call for impeachment for national security eavesdropping would be non existent. But now they have had to go to plan 18 or is it 19 according to Rockefeller's plan. I remember Andrews in FLorida - Daddy Bush was criticized for not responding to Andrews BEFORE the then democrat Gov. called him in. It really played against him in the elections - clinton claimed George H didn't care about the US just foreign affairs - Desert Storm!!!!! For that reason I'm sorry Brown has said what he has. The mayor of NO was up in Houston buying a new home and enrolling kids in schools - private no less. He left his chocolate city to melt by itself.
Well,you are a nicer person than I. Hillary hitailed it down there pretty fast. No matter what the leadership in LA did wrong - they had the media to back them up!!!!
Is FEMA considered first-responders ?
If you would like on or off the Louisiana Ping list please FReepmail me and your name will be added or taken off of the list.
These are people who evacuated and never returned is all, and contacted no one with any forwarding address. THey're trying to make something out of it to blame Bush for, I suppose.
To further elaborate on this, didn't Blanco request military help from outside the state - but demand that they be under her command, which simply wasn't happening?
Absolutely. You'll recall the beating 41 took after a hurricane in Florida. Katrina was a repeat out of the Dems same old play book.
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