Former FEMA director Brown as quoted in the NYT article is already following previous WH spin that the fault is in the ORGANIZATION, that
all disaster response should be given to the military under the President’s orders. Expect him to elaborate on this further during his testimony tomorrow. Expect the Congressional Republicans and the GOP-run media to follow this spin and push it.
When WE read about this we think "WH lies, WH deliberately letting New Orleans drown." When the WH and the media spin it, it's going to be "give us martial law, and we will protect you."
This major NYT article does show the lies of the WH in denying their culpability in the New Orleans flooding. But it also showcases Brown’s comments about how the problem was REALLY that there should have been immediate military command (and never mind the many warnings the WH was given or the fact that under the National Response Plan they ALREADY have that authority):http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/politics/10katrina.html?hp&ex=1139634000&en=914abcf6c2b5fc5a&ei=5094&partner=homepageThe Inquiry
White House Knew of Levee's Failure on Night of Storm
Caption: (credit: Marty Bahamonde/FEMA) A photo taken by a federal emergency official the day Hurricane Katrina arrived showed the broken 17th Street Canal levee in New Orleans.By ERIC LIPTON
Published: February 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 — In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Bush administration officials said they had been caught by surprise when they were told on Tuesday, Aug. 30, that a levee had broken, allowing floodwaters to engulf New Orleans.
But Congressional investigators have now learned that an eyewitness account of the flooding from a federal emergency official reached the Homeland Security Department's headquarters starting at 9:27 p.m. the day before, and the White House itself at midnight.
(snip)
This chain of events, along with dozens of other critical flashpoints in the Hurricane Katrina saga, has for the first time been laid out in detail following five months of work by two Congressional committees that have assembled nearly 800,000 pages of documents, testimony and interviews from more than 250 witnesses. Investigators now have the documentation to pinpoint some of the fundamental errors and oversights that combined to produce what is universally agreed to be a flawed government response to the worst natural disaster in modern American history.
(snip)
Mr. Brown acknowledged to investigators that he wished, in retrospect, that he had moved much earlier to turn over major aspects of the response effort to the Department of Defense. It was not until the middle of the week, he said, that he asked the military to take over the delivery and distribution of water, food and ice.(snip)
We can't let ourselves be caught napping on this. It looks so obvious to us that this is all about massive incompetence and/or deliberate criminal negligence by the Bush Administration. But with the help of the media, they can continue their ongoing, relentless campaign to USE the hurricane disasters as a basis for a power grab for all domestic disaster/emergency response to be headed by the President, with full command of the military and national guard. They've been working this angle from the beginning:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4790112thread title (Sept 16, 2005):
Missing A KEY POINT in *'s speech: POWER GRAB FOR POTUS AND MILITARYGo through the documents posted in the replies to this thread to see how this has been set up step by step FOR YEARS. They were waiting for an "enabling event" and thought Katrina would do it for them.
Bush attempted to blackmail Gov. Blanco into giving him command of the National Guard, as is clearly revealed by released documents:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5518358thread title (Dec 4, 2005):
WP:Documents Highlight Bush-Blanco Standoff(Vitter carried Rove's message)Despite repeated lies from the WH, the EXISTING National Response Plan under the Department of Homeland Security gives them ALL THE POWER THEY NEED TO DIRECT DISASTER RESPONSE AND MAKES THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHERTOFF AND BUSH AS PRIMARY DECISION-MAKERS VERY CLEAR:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1805660&mesg_id=1808510post title (Sept 27, 2005):
OF COURSE THERE IS A NATIONAL PLAN!!! It is a DHS document and {it very clearly gives full authority to Bush and to Chertoff to do whatever is needed in an emergency}And they were warned THE DAY BEFORE THE STORM HIT what would happen to the levees:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2061009thread title (Jan 23, 2006):
New Docs Show Gov't Forewarned on KatrinaAs John Kerry said when this new information was released on Jan 23,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x230261How is it that the White House Situation Room received detailed warnings 48 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit, that the National Hurricane Center was warning CNN and the world that Katrina could be The Big One, that FEMA reported two days before landfall that Katrina’s surge ‘could greatly overtop levees and protective systems,’ destroy nearly 90 percent of city structures, require ‘incredible search and rescue needs (60,000-plus),’ and displace more than a million people – and the President days later still insisted on national television, ‘I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees’ that left 1,300 dead and thousands more homeless? Where’s the accountability? Where’s the compassion?
Brownie is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee tomorrow (Friday, Feb 10). Expect the Congressional Republicans and the WH to use his testimony to fuel new calls - they never really stopped - for sweeping new presidential powers to deploy the military wherever and whenever he "sees fit." As with all the rest of their treason, the cover story will be that this is for the good, the safety of the American People. Terrorists and storms have very useful bogeymen indeed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Related current DU threads:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2097658thread title (2-9-06 LBN):
Paper: White House Knew About Levees Early Comment/excerpt: AP/Yahoo News “WASHINGTON - Twenty-eight government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, reported that New Orleans levees were breached Aug. 29, the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, documents released Thursday show. A timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports, pieced together by Senate Democrats, indicates the Bush administration knew as early as 8:30 a.m. EST about levee failures that would ultimately lead to massive flooding of the city and its surrounding parishes.” http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x375953thread title (2-9-06 GD):
Strap on your helmet---tomorrow could be a big day.Comment/excerpt: "There is no single issue that Bush is lambasted for more by EVERYBODY than Katrina. Tomorrow Brown is supposed to testify."