Just John

The President should not have needed the Gov to ask. After the briefing HE RECEIVED on 28 August, a LEADER would have known what was needed. THE day AFTER the storm a FOOL would have known what was needed. IT TOOK BUSH SIX DAYS to send help. You ignore the study that said in situations like Katrina ONLY THE ACTIVE MILITARY had the capability to provide the help required. NOT THE National Guard and NOT the state governments. The resources and staff in the states were impacted BY THE STORM. HOW WERE THEY IN A POSITION to provide the needed assistance? This was a BUSH failure because he was the ONLY person with the assets capable of meeting the needs and he sat on his a*s.

Lawmakers: Katrina Tape Raises Questions
BY MARGARET EBRAHIM (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 02, 2006 6:01 PM EST

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers from both parties said Thursday a newly disclosed videotape of a pre-Katrina briefing for President Bush and top administration officials raises new questions about government response to the storm that flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,300 people.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said the video "makes it perfectly clear once again that this disaster was not out of the blue or unforeseeable. It was not only predictable, it was actually predicted. That's what made the failures in response - at the local, state and federal level - all the more outrageous."

The video, obtained by The Associated Press, "confirms what we have suspected all along," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, charging that Bush administration officials have "systematically misled the American people."

Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California renewed their calls for an independent commission to investigate the federal response to the hurricane.

The House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the federal response, and the White House did its own investigation. House Democrats for the most part refused to participate in the House probe, insisting since last fall that an independent commission should be created to handle the probe.

"I try not to get angry, but I am plenty frustrated that we're not getting answers" from the administration, said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La., one of the few Democrats who participated in the House investigation. "If nobody was hiding anything, why did the committee not get the documents it requested? We need to use subpoenas if necessary to get those documents."

A spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who headed the House investigation, said there was nothing new in the tape and accompanying transcripts.

"Top federal, state and local officials failed to process and act on information at their disposal," said David Marin, the spokesman. "We already knew that."

But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, disagreed.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million," he said. "Six months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions along the Gulf Coast, the truth about what the president knew and when he knew it has come to light."

The videotape captured a briefing, one day before Katrina stuck on Aug. 29, involving then-Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown, President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other officials. Brown and others warned that the storm could breach levees, endanger lives in the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelm rescuers.

Five days after the briefing, with most of New Orleans underwater, Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

White House and Homeland Security officials urged the public not to read too much into the video footage.

"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," presidential spokesman Trent Duffy said Wednesday, citing a variety of orders and disaster declarations Bush signed before the storm made landfall. "He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."

The White House did not immediately respond Thursday to the renewed Democratic calls for an independent investigation.

During the briefing, Brown expressed concern that there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuate the Superdome. "I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the day before the hurricane hit.

Later, Bush reassured federal, state and local disaster relief officials who were participating by teleconference, "We are fully prepared."

R. David Paulison, who replaced Brown as head of FEMA in the aftermath of Katrina, said Thursday he would not second-guess the administration response to the hurricane.

"I don't know what else the White House could have done," he said. "I think as soon as everybody recognized there was a big problem, stuff started flowing in within a couple of days."

HOW WERE THEY IN A POSITION to provide the needed assistance? This was a BUSH failure because he was the ONLY person with the assets capable of meeting the needs and he sat on his a*s.

So how do you explain Blank Brain sitting in a room with Mike Brown two full hours after the levees broke saying there have been no breeches in the levees. I knew about it before she did. I had friends on the ground and they were calling while thy still had a chance.

You can blame this on Bush. I know you will no matter what facts or logic is presented to you. You can't help it.

This whole situation ws a failure of communication, at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level. The fact that you can see your way to place blame anywhere but on the president only proves you don't care about the truth, just your own motives.

Col, your stupidity continues to amaze me. Listen to yourself for once and realize how idiotic you sound. I lived in Miami Florida for 8 years, I was there when Andrew hit, so I know what it's like to pay attention when a hurricane is on it's way. These are not tornadoes or earthquakes that are unpredictable and impossible to know where they will hit. The things can be seen from miles away and can be followed to have an idea of where it might go. We were always ready days before a hurricane came close cause we know what could happen if it does. The people of New Orleans chose to ignore the threat and paid the price for doing so.

You don't know jack what it's like Col, cause so far not once have you said anything about experiencing a hurricane and the aftermath. There are rules, protocols, a chain of command, strategies, etc. that must be followed in order to have the right people in the right places. It's sad that you being a soldier once are so ignorant to this. You should know batter that you don't just drop a bunch of soldiers in a battle field with guns and hope they know who to kill and where to go. Everything needs a plan, a strategy, you need to know what you need, where you need it. Imaging having hundreds of firefighters, thousands of soldiers, hundreds of paramedics and doctors, tons of food and water but no one knows where to send it, what to set up an HQ and who needs what more.

Your mind is to stupid to understand that a firefighter can not enter a burning building to save someones life without knowing more or less where to look.

NO agency had the resources required to deal with the magnitude of this storm EXCEPT the Active Military that ONLY Bush could provide

Did it ever occur to you that maybe no one knew that till after the report was made? Some people died because of their ignorance to be prepared, others died because they ignored the warnings and didn't think nothing would happen, others died because of the stupidity of their own Governor and Mayor. All agencies have blame on this cause none of them did the right thing in a way. To blame this all on a single man is as ignorant and childish as you can get Col. I will not deny that things could have been done better and that Bush himself is also to blame, but you bore me with your "blame Bush and no one else" rhetoric.

The President should not have needed the Gov to ask. After the briefing HE RECEIVED on 28 August, a LEADER would have known what was needed.

You ignorant fool, ofcouse he should have asked first, because the Gov was the one who should have know what was needed, Bush is not a mind reader and can not see into the future, no report made before the storm could ever tell you what exactly is needed except to have an overkill of help just in case. How was Bush to know what was needed if no one asked for anything in specific. This is a Govt, there are rules, plans and strategies for this kind of situation. They are there for a reason, to keep order and to make sure that the necesary help goes to where it is needed. The lack of communication and the lack of following the plans was what yielded the results that we have in New Orleans.

As usual, you jump past the guilty party in order to feed your hatred towards Bushand your need to find him guilty of anything and everything. I have never met a person who has blamed a president for every accidents, natural disasters, attack, broken law, etc and no one else. I have come to the conclusion that you don't know anything about the chain of command in the US Govt, as far as your concerned, the president is our God and savior, he is responsible for anything and everything. I wonder why we have Governors and Mayors for. But then I should have seen this along time ago when you began to call Bush "King Bush".

DJBandit

Hay Brain Dead. The Gov of LA asked Bush for "ALL Federal Help" Since when is the Active Military not Federal help? It took Bush until Saturday to send the Active Military. Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken. It was in living color on TV. A leader would have moved late Monday or at the very latest Tuesday AM. NOT Bush. He sent in the 82nd Saturday which is SIX DAYS AFTER THE STORM hit!

Hay Brain Dead. The Gov of LA asked Bush for "ALL Federal Help" Since when is the Active Military not Federal help? It took Bush until Saturday to send the Active Military. Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken. It was in living color on TV. A leader would have moved late Monday or at the very latest Tuesday AM. NOT Bush. He sent in the 82nd Saturday which is SIX DAYS AFTER THE STORM hit!

I'm bran dead? You can't even say "hey", instead you put "hay". Your a joke Col.

Get this thru that titanium plate you have on your head after they removed your brain, you don't ask for "all Federal help" just like that. You are part of the Gov't chain of command and things are done in a proper way. Once again for that empty head of yours, there are plans and strategies for these situations. Example, firefighters don't run out the doors in their sleepware when ever the Firehouse alarms goes off. They need to get their gear, get their vehicles and get an address. Once their they need a plan on how to get in the building and put out the fire. Everything is done with a plan, they don't all just jump off the fire truck, grab a hose and start shooting fire, they don't just go in with out being prepared to try and save lives. Jesus why am I ever explaining this, you are the military guy here and you don't even know what it is to be prepared before you do your job. You being a soldier, and a Col, should now better about the chain of command. You don't go and send your boys to fight with out a plan or permission from a higher authority. Man, you really did take one too many bullets to the head. I hope you weren't this stupid during combat or I would have felt sorry for your fellow soldiers.

Yes I had a Typo.

When Bush SAW the situation on Monday he should have known the area needed help and not just LA. The situation was clear to anyone with half a brain. You are such an ASS. You are the kind of idiot that support Bush and his lame and ineffective leadership. You deserve him but the American people need a leader that is a LEADER!

Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken.

Couldn't the same be said about the state government? Us dumb coon asses down here know how to crank up the boob tube and watch us a little CNN.

Col. I am not even slightly saying that the feds held no responsibility in this breakdown of the system. I even hold Bush personally responsible to a degree. He is our commander. He is in charge. So, if he was supposed to activate the military and send them, what exactly was he supposed to send?

Did they need ships? Aircraft? Helicopters? Specialized personnel? What?

Plain and simple the governor didn't know what she needed. To deny that fact is foolish. I know you have no clue what it is like to live in Louisiana.

How about this interesting question. Why did we not have these same issues in Mississippi? You know they got hit by the same hurricane.

They didn't need to be rescued because their people were told ... GET OUT! They weren't told "come to the Super Dome if you don't have anywhere else to go". Those people in that building have only a few people to blame: Themselves - I am responsible for my own safety, Local government - There were local options that could have easily moved those people out of harms way, State Government - For not forcing the inept local government to do the right thing, President Bush - For not relieving the state and local government of its powers.

President Bush only screwed up once. He let Blanco run the show. Blanco has less of a clue today about what needs to be done than she did days before the storm.

BTW ... have you picked up your copy of the report yet or are you going to continue to beat he same tired drum?

TThe assets of the State and local governments were incapable of dealing with this storm. Most of the National Guard equipment was either in Iraq or under water. State and local equipment was in the same condition. The study done some years ago that was known to the White House PRIOR to this storm clearly concluded that in a storm of this magnitude ONLY THE ACTIVE MLITARY WAS ABLE TO PRIOVIDE THE HELP REQUIRED. Bush is the ONLY person with the power to employ the ACTIVE MILITARY! He sat on his A*s for SIX DAYS! Then he sent the ACTIVE MILITARY. This storm was not something any state or local officials could handle.

This storm was not something any state or local officials could handle.

How true that is, minus one key part of the statement ... after the storm. They knew because the study you speak of was known to them as well. The feds didn't call for that study.

The local officials had more than enough warning prior to the storm to do something about it. They chose not to and 1000 people died. Those people would not have died if they were never there for the storm. They shouldn't have been there.

Pick up the fuckin report. Read what was said by all parties involved. Before you sit down to read it you might want to pull that Bush hating cob from your ass. It is more than a couple of hundred pages. The cob might chap your ass if you sit too long.

I have tried reason with you. You are just to much of a silly fuck to give a shit about the truth. You have one agenda. I have some good news for you. Bush won't be president forever.

It is not Bush hating it is calling it like it is. Bush was the ONLY person with the assets needed to help and DID NOTHING. That has NOTHING to do with liking or disliking Bush. It has to do with HIS INACTION pure and simple. All you can say when facts ARE PRESENTED THAT show how poorly Bush acted; it is “Bush Hatred”

It is not Bush hating it is calling it like it is.

Yes, it is Bush hating. You hear nothing else, see nothing else and say nothing else. You are incapable of neutral, objective thought. You're nothing but a hate-spewing blogbot.

Other than that, you're great.

Everything I have said is correct. All the facts I sight about how the economy is doing are correct. Everything I have said about Iraq is correct. Everything I have said about the lack or border control is correct. Everything I have said about the deficit is right on. Your problem is that the facts show that this administration from Bush on down is creating these results which YOU SAY ARE NEGATIVE. Sounds like YOU are the Bush Hater!

Most of the National Guard equipment was either in Iraq or under water.

LOL....

"Even though National Guard forces have been heavily engaged in the Global War on Terrorism, nearly 124,000 troops were available for duty in the 17 states along the storm’s projected path, the National Guard Bureau reported. That averages to 78 percent of those states’ total Guard strength. Another 6,000 were available in Texas, and a Guard spokesman pointed out that tens of thousands more could be drawn from the rest of the nation."

Link

Today's Louisiana Army and Air National Guard consists of 74 units spread among 43 cities and towns of the state and numbers some 11,500 Army and Air Guardsmen.

approximately 2,300 men and women of the 256th Brigade Combat Team who have been away for more than a year while supporting the Global War on Terrorism.

Both Mississippi and Louisiana have about 3,000 National Guard troops deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, defense officials said.

Link

Gene

Only the 256th Combat team was deployed to Iraqi. They fell in on equipment in theator, leaving their vehicles behind. What I do know of the LA National Guard units in the New Orleans area, is that almost all of them are located at Camp Jackson. An area that was not under water. Could you just see the field day the Republicans (and maybe one or two media outlets) would of had showing thousands of LA National Guard vehicles submergered.



About only 1,800 troops from LA (the rest of the Bgd is from MS) was deployed out of the over 11,500. You need to stop drinking the Cool Aid Gene. The National Guard was pumping thousands of troops into LA. The active troops sent in later was a drop in that bucket, and was only sent as a PR move to get screaming liberals off their backs. Almost everything was handled by the National Guard units from across the nation. The Active troops was not truely needed. I do know your experience is with the non-unified Army Reserves, which are a far cry away from knowing how to react to emergencies. Remember, the Guard does this for a living.

(9/2/2005)

By the day's end, almost 12,000 National Guard troops will be on duty in Louisiana and almost 8,000 in Mississippi, he said. An additional 2,500 Guard members are supporting relief efforts in Florida and Alabama.

(9/4/2005)

By Sept. 3, five days after the storm struck with 145 mph, Category 4 fury on Aug. 29 and after the levees that protected New Orleans had broken open, nearly 27,000 Army and Air Guard men and women were on state active duty in the stricken region.

That number was expected to increase to nearly 40,000 during the coming days. Forty states, including the affected ones, were sending troops, equipment and supplies by cargo planes and convoys. The Guard was providing 74 percent of Joint Task Force Katrina, the uniformed military support to civilian authorities, the National Guard Bureau reported.

Link

Mississippi Guardsman Counters 'Too Slow' Criticism

GULFPORT, Miss. (9/12/2005) — Some Mississippi National Guardsmen are getting a bit annoyed at the criticism that their response to Hurricane Katrina was too slow.

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