Posted on 09/14/2018 8:12:13 AM PDT by cll
Washington (CNN) - A military intelligence assessment warned days after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico of a "high" potential for government failure on the island, new documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee reveal.
"The potential for government failure and the resulting humanitarian crisis on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands is high," reads the unclassified J-2 assessment obtained by the House Oversight Committee.
~ snip ~
The intelligence assessment, written five days after Maria struck Puerto Rico, was prepared for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cummings wants to know whether Trump was aware of the assessment at the time given his public comments during that period, including his criticism of local officials who sounded the alarm about similar concerns raised in the report.
"Both territories now suffer from devastated power grids and communications networks, lack of potable water, crippled transportation and supply systems, severely degraded medical services, and an economy that will take months to rebuild," the September 25 report stated.
"The ability to get the territories back on their feet quickly is crucial for a growingly desperate population of 3.6 million American citizens," the report said. Those issues -- damaged transportation networks, power grids and affected medical services -- would plague Puerto Rico for months to come, hindering the island's recovery and causing hundreds more deaths.
Nearly a year after Hurricane Maria hit, the impact of the devastation and the breakdown in recovery that did happen still weigh very heavily on residents.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Wait, CNN, what the? Oh, they must think that this story helps their cause.
So what is the point CNN, Trump should have declared martial law when he saw the hurricane coming toward PR and built an entire new network of roads and power grids in the days before it hit?
But you can be sure that the media is hoping people will think of FEMA and President Trump when the word “government” is bandied about in reference to the failures in Puerto Rico.
...Trump should haveFixed.declared martial lawparachuted in rainbows and unicorns when he saw the hurricane coming toward PR and built an entire new network of roads and power grids in the days before it hit?
Puerto Rico has been a Democrat run fiefdom for decades. You reap what you sow. The communist MSM (i.e. ALL of the MSM) is trying to place blame on Trump for what their heroes have caused.
The one good thing that came out of this, people realized they didn’t need much government when it didn’t show up and they had to rely on each other to dig out, feed themselves, and now rebuild. One year after, the local government is still inop.
Time for the Federal Government to get out of the emergency management business.
This should really be the responsibility of state and local officials.
Elect idiots like Ray Nagin at your own risk.
The few years I lived in PR I found most everyone with whom I had contact were pro-American. However, there were a large number who were not. The “independistas” were only 1% of the population, but many were sympathizers and who went out of their way to make resident Americans feel uncomfortable. We had many military installations on the island with Roosevelt Roads Navy base being the largest. Millions of American dollars flowed into the island from the military and civilians on a US payroll - government or business. Over the years the Puerto Rican government and media made it easy for the US to pull out of the island.
The economy had always been weak, but without US dollars to prop it up it became much worse. The Puerto Ricans are the reason for their lousy economic condition, not the Americans and their money. P.S. - we loved living on the island.
However, why should we solve all the problems of the world.
You can lead a Puerto Rican to water, but you can’t make him drink.
However, why should we solve all the problems of the world.
You can lead a Puerto Rican to water, but you can’t make him drink.
Very similar to how Mayor “School Bus” Nagin of Chocolate city ran things.
Oh, so racist. Infrastructurally racist. Electrically racist.
I have a relative who does auditing at a paycheck cashing company. He has to go to PR about once a year to do their books and says its a joke. Apparently, their office there is just for a tax write off so the big wigs can have a party place. Says everything there is one big corruption.
PR has always been in the hurricane zone, and will always be in the hurricane zone. Its preposterous for any utility or major infrastructure to be built without that in mind.
Trump can’t solve that if the local government and utilities don’t solve that.
Its a very valuable piece of real estate, but that doesn’t make a hundred years of inadequate grid construction Trump’s responsibility.
I have said a number of times that we should have sent in the 82 nd Airborne and the Corps of Engineers to take over the government of Puerto Rico. Given the recent discovery of more relief supplies abandoned I still think so.
Government? I think they meant “Local” Government.
Time for the Federal Government to get out of the emergency management business.
Absolutely right!
I was stationed in PR in the early 60’s. Had a great time, by the way in Old San Juan! But there were serious terrorist factions that bombed military school buses carrying military dependents. Very anti-American groups.
Absolutely. Only a person who has lived there and/or has family there comprehends the magnitude of the local govt’s inefficiency and corruption.
Saludos!
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.