Katrina Timeline and Why FEMA Failedby Caroline Vernon
Timeline excerpts from thinkprogress.org
Why FEMA Failed from Salon.com
I just heard on Air America that FEMA Director Michael Brown has been removed from his position overseeing recovery efforts post-Katrina. Although Brown has finally been demoted, the spin machine has embarked on promulgating their latest sound-bytes also known as the “blame game”. Check out the following audio file at www.salon.com and pay particular attention to what O-Reilly has to say. To further demonstrate this rare brand of compassionate conservatism, according to the progressreport.org and the Wallstreet Journal, Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) of Baton Rouge was overhead telling lobbyists: “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.” These guys have no shame whatsoever!
It is important that the Bush administration not get away with shifting their responsibility to local officials. Here is the timeline of what actually happened. One case in point is the fact that Bush himself was previously warned of levee failure by the National Hurricane Center on August 28th, yet he stated, "no one could have anticipated that the levees would collapse." Liar, liar, pants on fire! Yeah, he’s in the hot seat all right.
Timeline:
Friday, Aug. 26: Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and requests troop assistance.
Saturday, Aug. 27: Gov. Blanco asks for federal state of emergency. A federal emergency is declared by Bush giving federal officials the authority to get involved.
Sunday, Aug. 28: Mayor Ray Nagin orders mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. Bush warned of Levee failure by National Hurricane Center. National Weather Service predicts area will be uninhabitable after Hurricane arrives. First reports of water toppling over the levee appear in local paper.
Monday, Aug. 29: Levee breaches and New Orleans begins to fill with water, Bush travels to Arizona and California to discuss Medicare. FEMA chief finally responds to federal emergency, dispatching employees but giving them two days to arrive on site.
Tuesday, Aug. 30: Mass looting reported, security shortage cited in New Orleans. Pentagon says that local authorities have adequate National Guard units to handle hurricane needs despite governor's earlier request. Bush returns to Crawford for final day of vacation. TV coverage is around-the-clock Hurricane news.
Wednesday, Aug. 31: Tens of thousands trapped in New Orleans including at Convention Center and Superdome in medieval conditions. Bush finally returns to Washington to establish a task force to coordinate federal response. Local authorities run out of food and water supplies.
Thursday, Sept. 1: New Orleans descends into anarchy. New Orleans Mayor issues a Desperate SOS to federal government. Bush claims nobody predicted the breach of the levees despite multiple warnings and his earlier briefing.
Friday, Sept. 2: Karl Rove begins Bush administration campaign to blame state and local officials — despite their repeated requests for help. Bush stages a photo-op — diverting Coast Guard helicopters and crew to act as backdrop for cameras. Levee repair work orchestrated for Bush's visit and White House press corps.
Saturday, Sept. 3: Bush blames state and local officials. Senior administration official (possibly Rove) caught in a lie claiming Gov. Blanco had not declared a state of emergency or asked for help.
Monday, Sept. 5: New Orleans officials begin to collect their dead.
(Adapted from: Katrina Timeline, http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/)
Those are the facts. State and local officials BEGGED for help as people in their city suffered. The Bush administration didn't get the job done and when their failure became an embarrassment they attacked those asking for help.
The New York Times recently reported that Karl Rove and White House communications director Dan Bartlett rolled out a plan... to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. The core of the strategy is to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana.
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