<<< AP Has Tapes of Bush's Pre-Katrina Video-Conference >>>

[Stephanie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060301/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_video

Tape: Bush, Chertoff Warned Before Katrina
By MARGARET EBRAHIM and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage of the briefings.

Bush didn't ask a single question during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on Aug. 29 but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."

Six days of footage and transcripts obtained by The Associated Press show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.

Linked by secure video, Bush's bravado on Aug. 29 starkly contrasts with the dire warnings his disaster chief and a cacophony of federal, state and local officials provided during the four days before the storm.

A top hurricane expert voiced "grave concerns" about the levees and then-
Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown told the president and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he feared there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuees at the Superdome.

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These are photos I posted here on Sunday August 28. Both are handouts from the WH. The first is Bush being briefed on the hurricane, the second is from a pre-taped statement they released that afternoon. This was after a week where Bush had been completely isolated on his ranch, and then escaped to Idaho for a few days, to avoid Cindy Sheehan.









Blood On His Hands