"I'm trapped now, please rescue me"
Useless scapegoat Mike Brown is in the news again, with the release of a selection from his email correspondence(.PDF) during the Katrina disaster. While we'd appreciate seeing his incompetence suitably rewarded, it'd be better to see everyone who shares in the blame for this debacle dragged out into the light.
posted by Management at 10:10 PM
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'Can I quit now?' FEMA chief wrote as Katrina raged
E-mails give insight into Brown's leadership, attitude
Thursday, November 3, 2005; Posted: 10:35 p.m. EST (03:35 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Louisiana congressman says e-mails written by the government's emergency response chief as Hurricane Katrina raged show a lack of concern for the unfolding tragedy and a failure in leadership.
Rep. Charlie Melancon, whose district south of New Orleans was devastated by the hurricane, posted a sampling of e-mails written by Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown on his Web site on Wednesday.
The Democratic lawmaker cited several e-mails that he said show Brown's failures. In one, as employees looked for direction and support on the ravaged Gulf Coast, Brown offered to "tweak" the federal response.
Two days after Katrina hit, Marty Bahamonde, one of the only FEMA employees in New Orleans, wrote to Brown that "the situation is past critical" and listed problems including many people near death and food and water running out at the Superdome.
Brown's entire response was: "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?" (Copies of e-mails posted by critic -- PDF)
On September 12 Brown resigned, 10 days after President Bush told him, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Brown is still on the federal payroll at his $148,000 annual salary. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, saying Brown's expertise was needed as he investigated what went wrong, agreed to a 30-day extension when Brown resigned. Chertoff renewed that extension in mid-October.
Brown took over FEMA in 2003 with little experience in emergency management. He joined the agency in 2001 as legal counsel to his college friend, then-FEMA director Joe Allbaugh, who was Bush's 2000 campaign manager. When Allbaugh left FEMA in 2003 Brown assumed the top job.
Before joining the Bush administration, Brown spent a decade as the stewards and judges commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association.
The e-mails Melancon posted, a sampling of more than 1,000 provided to the House committee now assessing responses to Katrina by all levels of government, also show Brown making flippant remarks about his responsibilities. (Read how office e-mails can come back to
haunt)
"Can I quit now? Can I come home?" Brown wrote to Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, the morning of the hurricane.
A few days later, Brown wrote to an acquaintance, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me."
"In the midst of the overwhelming damage caused by the hurricane and enormous problems faced by FEMA, Mr. Brown found time to exchange e-mails about superfluous topics," including "problems finding a dog-sitter," Melancon said.
Melancon said that on August 26, just days before Katrina made landfall, Brown e-mailed his press secretary, Sharon Worthy, about his attire, asking: "Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"
A few days later, Worthy advised Brown: "Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working."
On August 29, the day of the storm, Brown exchanged e-mails about his attire with Taylor, Melancon said. She told him, "You look fabulous," and Brown replied, "I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?"
An hour later, Brown added: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god," according to the congressman.
The e-mails came from Chertoff, who oversees FEMA, following a request by Melancon and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia, chairman of a House committee appointed to investigate what went wrong during Katrina, Melancon said.
Brown resigned amid accusations that FEMA acted too slowly after Katrina hammered Louisiana and Mississippi, killing more than 1,200 people. He defended the government's response and blamed leaders in Louisiana for failing to act quickly as the hurricane approached.
He acknowledged he made some mistakes as FEMA's director, but he stressed that the agency "is not a first responder," insisting that role belonged to state and local officials.
Brown could not be reached for comment Wednesday night on the e-mails and Melancon's charges.
Although Chertoff has not turned over all the documents requested by the committee, Melancon charged that the material received so far contradicts testimony by Brown before the committee in which he described himself as an effective leader. (Melancon's analysis of e-mails -- PDF)
Melancon used an e-mail sent September 2, four days after the hurricane hit, to illustrate his point. On that day, Brown received a message with the subject "medical help." At the time, thousands of patients were being transported to the New Orleans airport, which had been converted to a makeshift hospital. Because of a lack of ventilators, medical personnel had to ventilate patients by hand for as long as 35 hours, according to Melancon.
The text of the e-mail reads: "Mike, Mickey and other medical equipment people have a 42-foot trailer full of beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, etc. They are wanting to take them where they can be used but need direction.
"Mickey specializes in ventilator patients so can be very helpful with acute care patients. If you could have someone contact him and let him know if he can be of service, he would appreciate it. Know you are busy but they really want to help."
Melancon said Brown didn't respond for four days, when he forwarded the original e-mail to FEMA Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks Altshuler and Deputy Director of Response Michael Lowder.
The text of Brown's e-mail to them read: "Can we use these people?"
Melancon also charged that few of the e-mails from Brown show him assigning specific tasks to employees or responding to pressing problems.
On September 1, FEMA officials exchanged e-mails reporting severe shortages of ice and water in Mississippi. They were to receive 60 trucks of ice and 26 trucks of water the next day, even though they needed 450 trucks of each.
Robert Fenton, a FEMA regional response official, predicted "serious riots" if insufficient supplies arrive.
Brown was forwarded the series of e-mails about the problem, but no response from him is shown in the e-mails provided to the committee, Melancon said.
Katrina came ashore along the Louisiana-Mississippi state line, after being downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm. It flooded 80 percent of New Orleans. It was followed about a month later by Hurricane Rita, which caused more damage and flooding.
Melancon and several other Democrats from districts directly affected by Katrina were invited to participate as a ex-officio members of the Katrina investigative committee, though they have no formal role. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi refused to appoint any Democrats to the panel after GOP leaders rebuffed Democratic demands for an independent probe.
This is the second time a congressional committee had dealt with e-mails relating to FEMA's Katrina response. A complete transcript of Brown's e-mail traffic during the Katrina crisis has not been released by the Department of Homeland Security.
The NYT reports this afternoon: "'Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government.'" Mr. Bush said. 'And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility.'"
"To the extent."
But it's worse than that. One of the prime specimens of cant in our time is this weasel-word "responsibility." Hucksters of all stripes know it sounds smooth to "take responsibility" by uttering the words. It placates some naysayers. It sounds, well, responsible. As we live with the non-denial denial, we live with the irresponsible taking of responsibility.
Any serious taking of responsibility entails probing the error--its roots, its dimensions. In Bush's case, this would entail:
--acknowledging that he routinely appointed crony incompetents to run FEMA and other federal agencies;
--acknowledging that this was the wrong thing to do;
--acknowledging that many terrible things happened as a result;
--acknowledging that he was otherwise occupied when the safety of America and Americans was at stake.
Anything less is pure blather. Journalists who let Bush get away with this glop now would be regressing to the bad old days of flabby deference they purport to be putting behind them.
Chertoff AWOL As Katrina Strikes
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
News from the DNC:
Washington, DC - Hurricane Katrina tested the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to respond to a major national emergency. Unfortunately, the newly created agency failed miserably, as thousands were left stranded in the Gulf Coast. The agency’s failed response raised serious questions about DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff’s role as the tragedy unfolded. Concerns have been raised that Chertoff's inaction stalled the deployment of desperately needed federal resources to the affected region.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called on the White House to release Chertoff’s schedule in the days leading up to and after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast:
“Every day, it becomes clearer that Secretary Chertoff and his agency dragged its feet as thousands of Americans remained stranded. The agency’s failed response also raises serious questions about our nation’s ability to respond to another large natural disaster or terror attack. To answer these questions, the White House should release Chertoff’s schedule so that Americans can begin to learn why their federal government let down so many in the Gulf Coast. Democrats also renew our call for an independent commission to fully investigate the response, at all levels, to our nation’s worst natural disaster."
See below for a new document from DNC Research:
CHERTOFF TO NEW ORLEANS: GOOD LUCK!
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was responsible for leading and coordinating the federal response efforts to the biggest natural disaster to ever hit the United States. President Bush finally took responsibility for a botched federal response, which left thousands stranded in the convention center and ignored thousands of others begging for help. While thousands suffered, Chertoff stalled the deployment of federal resources by waiting until days after Katrina struck, and days after a state of emergency was declared, to enact the National Response Plan his agency had created. Chertoff repeatedly ignored the warnings, shrugged off the pleas for help, downplayed the horror and devastation, all the while praising FEMA. We know that President Bush was at the ranch in Crawford and Vice President Cheney was vacationing in Wyoming while Katrina was raging on the Gulf Coast. But, where was Secretary Chertoff?
WAY BACK WHEN... 2004
"Hurricane Pam" Exercise Documented Threat to New Orleans; Did Chertoff Even See The Report? The AP reported, "Under FEMA's direction, federal and state officials began working on the $1 million Hurricane Pam project in July 2004, when 270 experts gathered in Baton Rouge, La., for an eight-day simulation. The so-called 'tabletop' exercise focused planners on a mock hurricane that produced more than 20 inches of rain and 14 tornadoes. The drill included computer graphic simulations projected on large screens of the hurricane slamming directly into New Orleans -the storm eerily foreshadowed the havoc wrought by Category 4 Katrina a few days later, raising questions about whether government leaders did everything possible -- as early as possible -- to protect New Orleans residents from a well-documented threat.' Former FEMA Director Michael Brown said he was kept abreast of Pam planning from the onset... Brown assumed the Pam report was sent to DHS, 'but can I put it in the hands of Secretary Ridge or Secretary Chertoff? No.'" [AP, 9/10/05]
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2005
CHERTOFF IS AWARE OF POTENTIAL KATRINA HOLDS BEFORE IT HITS LAND
Chertoff Assured Alabama Governor "Any Assistance" Needed Before Katrina Hit. Alabama Governor Bob Riley spoke to Bush and Chertoff before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. In a statement pre-Katrina, Governor Riley said, "I've spoken with President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff, both of whom have assured me they will offer any assistance we may need to recover from this devastating storm." [States News Service, 8/28/05]
Chertoff Briefed on 'Potential Deadly Effects' of Katrina, Warned of Levee Break. "Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, told the Times-Picayune Sunday afternoon [8/28/05] that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, including FEMA Director Mike Brown and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, listened in on electronic briefings given by his staff in advance of Hurricane Katrina slamming Louisiana and Mississippi--and were advised of the storm's potential deadly effects." Mayfield later told the Times- Picayune, "We were briefing them way before landfall...It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped." [Editor & Publisher, 9/4/05; Times-Picayune, 9/4/05, emphasis added]
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2005
AS KATRINA AND POUNDS THE GULF
By Early Monday, At Least 55 Reported Deaths By Hurricane Katrina Throughout Gulf Coast. "Hurricane Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast on Monday morning, its fierce winds cutting a 125-mile swath of destruction stretching from coastal Alabama across Mississippi to the French Quarter and the Superdome. At least 55 people were killed. The storm's leading edge, wielding winds up to 145 mph across the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall as a fearsome Category 4 hurricane at 7:10 a.m."[Washington Post, 8/30/05]
BROWNIE WAS DESPERATELY SEEKING CHERTOFF
FEMA Director Frantically Sought Leadership from Chertoff. The New York Times reported, "hours after Hurricane Katrina passed New Orleans on Aug. 29, as the scale of the catastrophe became clear, Michael D. Brown recalls, he placed frantic calls to his boss, Michael Chertoff. 'I am having a horrible time,'" Brown said he told Chertoff [New York Times, 9/15/05]
Katrina Wreaking Havoc, Bush Called Chertoff...About Immigration Policy. While Katrina was wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast, Bush was in Arizona, fielding questions on immigration policy: "I spoke to Mike Chertoff today. He's the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration policy], so -- we got us an airplane on Air -- telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are. That's the most effective way to do things, is to work with the state and local authorities." [Federal News Service, 8/29/05]
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005
CHERTOFF BELATEDLY ENACTS NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN
Chertoff Failed To Start The National Response Plan Until Days After Katrina Hit. "The National Response Plan, issued by the department in January, allows federal assistance before a disaster strikes. The plan states that a federal response 'can be partially or fully implemented in the context of a threat, anticipation of a significant event, or the response to a significant event.' The plan generally requires the federal government to react to emergencies that exceed state and local capabilities. Chertoff did not declare Katrina as a nationally significant incident until August 30th, a day after Katrina hit. Chertoff's memo came three days after President Bush's Aug. 27 declaration of a state of emergency in Louisiana, in advance of the storm and four days after Governor Blanco said in her letter to Bush that the severity of the storm would overwhelm Louisiana's resources." [Houston Chronicle, 9/14/05; Blanco Letter to Bush, 8/26/05, emphasis added]
Chertoff's Delay in Declaring an Incident of National Significance Meant a Delay in Federal Resources. "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff delayed declaring Katrina an 'incident of national significance' - a designation that would have triggered a quick and massive federal response - until a day after the hurricane hit, even though weather forecasts predicted the storm would cause widespread destruction." [Houston Chronicle, 9/15/05]
BLANCO CALLS SITUATION HEARTBREAKING...
Blanco Calls Situation "Untenable." Nagin Declared Martial Law. "'The situation is untenable,' Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. 'It's just heartbreaking. The devastation is greater than our worst fears.' New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared martial law Tuesday afternoon and ordered everyone still in the city -- including police officers not considered 'central emergency personnel' -- to leave. But evacuation routes were blocked by flooding and debris." [AP State & Local Wire, 8/31/05; Orlando Sentinel, 8/31/05]
CHERTOFF SAYS NEW ORLEANS "DODGED A BULLET"
Chertoff Downplayed Damage, Learned of Levee Break and Devastation. Chertoff on "Meet the Press, recalled, "Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers, and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged The Bullet,' ...Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse. It was on Tuesday that the levee -- may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday -- that the levee started to break." No major newspaper printed a headline that literally said New Orleans "dodged a bullet," as Chertoff claimed. [Meet the Press, 9/4/05; Wall Street Journal, 9/12/05, emphasis added]
Brown Called Chertoff Tuesday Evening Begging for Chertoff's Help. "Guys, this is bigger than what we can handle... This is bigger than what FEMA can do. I am asking for help." [New York Times, 9/15/05]
Chertoff Claimed He Didn't Know The Storm Would Be So Big. "It wasn't until comparatively late, shortly before, day, day and a half before landfall that it became clear this was going to be a category 4, 5 heading for the New Orleans area," said Chertoff. But, the national hurricane center was warning of Katrina's growing danger four days before landfall. [CNN, 9/4/05]
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
BLANCO ASKS WHITE HOUSE FOR MORE HELP IN RESCUE EFFORT...
Blanco Asked White House For More People To Help With Rescue Effort. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco asks the White House to send more people to help with evacuations and rescues, thereby freeing up National Guardsmen to stop out-of-control looters. [AP, 8/31/05]
CHERTOFF SAYS EFFORTS "GOING WELL"
Despite Blanco's Assessment, Chertoff Says Situation At Superdome Secure. Blanco's "remarks contrasted with those by Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, who said yesterday that the Superdome, where thousands of refugees sought shelter, 'is secure' with the help of 'several hundred' National Guardsmen and city police. His statement was belied by police at the scene, who described the situation as extremely dangerous." [Baltimore Sun, 9/2/05]
Chertoff: "Efforts Going Well," "Extremely Pleased with Federal Response." Chertoff claimed in media interviews that relief and evacuation efforts were "going well," and he declared himself "extremely pleased" with the federal response to Katrina. [CNN/Aaron Brown timeline report, 9/5/05; AP 9/6/05]
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
CHAOS AND DESPAIR... BUT CHERTOFF SAYS THINGS AREN'T SO BAD
Things Weren't as Bad as They Seemed. Time Magazine reports, "In a conference with President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and five congressional leaders, when chaos and despair reigned in New Orleans, Chertoff insisted things weren't going as badly as media reports suggested, adding that he had spoken to local law-enforcement officials in the past hour." [Time, 9/19/05]
Chertoff Learned of Situation in Superdome, Reporters Were "Exaggerating." "Chertoff first learned--from an NPR anchor in Washington--that there were thousands of people stranded, starving and in some cases dying in the New Orleans Convention Center, a story that had been all over the media that morning. Again, Chertoff suggested reporters were exaggerating. 'If you talk to someone and you get a rumor or you get someone's anecdotal version of something,' he said, 'I think it's dangerous to extrapolate it to all over the place.'" [Time, 9/19/05]
CHERTOFF'S FEMA MIA, CHERTOFF THREE DAYS LATE ASKING FOR HELP
Homeland Security Did Not Ask for Help Evacuating Storm Victims Until Thursday - Three Days After the Storm Made Landfall. "The airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon [September 1st]. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees." [AP, 9/6/05]
Superdome Evacuation A Louisiana Operation: FEMA Not Involved. "Watching the slow procession from the Superdome, an angry Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans' emergency operations, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency response was inadequate. 'This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control,' Ebbert said. 'We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans. We have got a mayor who has been pushing and asking, but we're not getting supplies.' He said the evacuation was almost entirely a Louisiana operation. 'This is not a FEMA operation. I haven't seen a single FEMA guy.'" [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9/2/05]
Chertoff to New Orleans: "Good Luck." In a briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff insisted that the government was doing all it could do. In his remarks, he stated that "All of us wish, I know, Godspeed and good luck to those who are suffering." [Homeland Security Press Briefing 9/1/05; Orlando Sentinel, 9/2/05]
Brown And Chertoff: Residents Bear Responsibility for Climbing Death Toll. FEMA Director Michael Brown said those who ignored the city's mandatory evacuation order bore some responsibility. "I think the death toll may go into the thousands and, unfortunately, that's going to be attributable a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings," he said. Chertoff voiced a similar opinion saying, "Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part." [CNN, 9/2/05; NBC Today, 9/1/05]
FRIDAY, SEMPTEMBER 2, 2005
CHERTOFF TOUTS PROGRESS, PRAISES FEMA
Chertoff Accompanied Bush to Beleaguered Coast, Touted Progress. Before heading down to the devastated Gulf Coast, Bush told reporters, "Secretary Chertoff and I just finished a meeting with Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, other members of my Cabinet, as well as General Honore, Admiral Keating, in charge of NORTHCOM - General Honore is active duty general on the ground in Louisiana - and Mike Brown, who's the head of FEMA... There's a lot of aid surging toward those who have been affected: Millions of gallons of water, millions of tons of food. We're making progress about pulling people out of the Superdome." [AP, 9/2/05]
Chertoff: FEMA Doing "Magnificent Job." "Terry Ebbert, New Orleans' homeland security chief [said] FEMA's response to the disaster has been an 'embarrassment.'... Yet, back in Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told CNN Thursday that he believes FEMA and other federal agencies have done a 'magnificent job' under difficult circumstances to deal with the unprecedented disaster, citing their 'courage' and 'ingenuity.' Insisting that aid is coming as fast as possible, Chertoff said, 'You can't fly helicopters in a hurricane. You can't drive trucks in a hurricane.'' [CNN, 9/2/05]
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005
CHERTOFF POINTS FINGERS AND SUPPORTS BROWNIE WHILE...
Chertoff Says State Responsible For National Guard Response And Says He Has Full Confidence In Brown. Chertoff told CNN that "[t]he traditional model for recovery and -- response and recovery involves having the federal government come into support the first responders, who are the first on the ground... our constitutional system really places the primary authority in each state with the governor." Chertoff also said he has "full confidence" in FEMA Director Michael D. Brown, the DHS undersecretary and federal officer in charge of the Katrina response. [CNN, 9/3/05; Washington Post, 9/4/05]
Chertoff Claimed Situation In Louisiana Was Improving. "The situation is improving hour by hour, nevertheless we are not satisfied," Chertoff said, adding that the unexpected double whammy of a hurricane followed by flooding in New Orleans had shattered the government's emergency plan with the force of an 'atomic bomb.'" [Agence France Presse, 9/3/05]
BLANCO IS FORCED TO LOOK TO OTHERS FOR HELP...
Blanco Brings In Experienced Emergency Management Official To Advise On Relief Effort. Blanco created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2005
CHERTOFF PLAYS DUMB; SAYS GOVERNMENT IS IN CONTROL...
Chertoff Claims The Levee Breaks Were Unexpected. Chertoff repeatedly spoke about the hurricane and the break of the levees in New Orleans as if they were separate events, another unpredictable one-two punch. "A devastating hurricane followed by a second devastating flood." Chertoff admitted FEMA knew the levees around New Orleans might be overrun by a category 4 hurricane however - Chertoff defended, "The collapse of a significant portion of the levee leading to the fast flooding of the city was not envisioned." [CNN, 9/4/05]
Chertoff: No Amount Of Planning Could Have Prepared Them. "So no matter what the planning was in advance, we were presented with an unprecedented situation." [NBC's Meet the Press, 9/4/05]
Chertoff Assured the Government Had Control of the Situation. "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Sunday the federal government is in control of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans after days in which authorities failed to reach stranded refugees and evacuate the city." [AP, 9/4/05, 9/5/05]
BUT BLANCO STILL LACKS RESOURCES
Blanco Praised General Honore But Was Disappointed He Didn't Have More Resources In Tow. "Honore quickly became a media darling and the take-charge face of the federal government in New Orleans, barking out orders to surprised National Guards members who aren't even under his control. Blanco said she liked Honore's style, but was surprised that he arrived with only a few aides in tow. 'He didn't bring any resources,' Blanco said. 'I just kind of expected, based on my conversations with the White House, that we could be getting a surge of equipment and we did not.'" [Newhouse News Service, 9/5/05]
Former DHS Inspector General: Devastating Indictment Of Department's Performance. "This is what the department was supposed to be all about," said Clark Kent Ervin, DHS's former inspector general. "Instead, it obviously raises very serious, troubling questions about whether the government would be prepared if this were a terrorist attack. It's a devastating indictment of this department's performance four years after 9/11." [Washington Post, 9/4/05]
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2005
CHERTOFF FINALLY VISITS REGION, MAKES OUTRAGOUS COMMENTS
Chertoff Made Trip to Region. On Monday, September 5, President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary Chertoff traveled to the Gulf Coast. [CNN, 9/5/05]
Chertoff... How could you? After claiming to have no warning of a possible levee break and stalling the federal response by not putting into action the National Response Plan until days after the hurricane hit, Chertoff finally visited the devastated region and plainly stated, "We are going to uncover people who died, maybe hiding in houses, got caught by the flood." [Houston Chronicle, 9/15/05; Meet the Press, 9/4/05; Chicago Tribune, 9/6/05]
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
CHERTOFF BRIEFS CONGRESS, GIVES OVERLY ROSY VIEW OF EVENTS
Chertoff Briefed Senators: "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said efforts now focus on rehabilitating the battered coast and helping displaced residents find housing, education and jobs. 'I think what we have to offer the people of all of the afflicted areas now is hope,' Chertoff said after briefing senators. 'There is a tremendous amount of work to do.'"[AP 9/5/05]
Chertoff Under Fire. Chertoff visibly upset members of the Homeland Security Committee by taking a laissez fair tone, minimizing the suffering and anguish of evacuees at the Superdome and insisting the federal response had been far better than the media portrayed. Ranking Committee member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said of Chertoff's remarks, ''He was the first speaker, and it sort of went downhill after that. People felt we are not going to get the truth here.'' Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, became increasingly frustrated by what he heard. ''The picture was being painted that things were not as bad as they appeared to be'' in news reports, Mr. Cummings said in an interview. ''It reached the point where the answers didn't add up.'' [New York Times, 9/8/05]
Chertoff Called Superdome Crisis a "Small Soda-Straw View" of What Happened. NBC's Mike Viqueira reported that in the closed briefing Cabinet officials gave House members last night, homeland security chief Michael Chertoff contended to members that what the members saw on TV from the Superdome "was a small soda-straw view of what was going on" in terms of the crisis, and not representative of the true situation. Per Rep. Elijah Cummings (D), after Chertoff said that, some members got up and walked away. [MSNBC, 9/7/05]
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
Disaster Buck Stopped at Chertoff, Not Brown
by Jessica Azulay (bio)
Protocols enacted last year place responsibility for federal disaster management on the DHS chief’s desk – what’s more, they give no indication that he can pass that authority on to the FEMA director.
Sep 15 - According to rules enacted by the Bush administration, the hailstorm of criticism targeted at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be spread to the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Though FEMA's director at the time, Michael Brown, has been widely blamed for the glacial and inadequate federal response to Katrina, December 2004 protocols put in place by the Department of Homeland Security clearly show Brown's boss, Michael Chertoff, was technically in charge from the beginning.
According to the National Response Plan, enacted to coordinate the federal handling of terrorist attacks or natural disasters, primary responsibility for coordinating aid and support to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina sat squarely on the shoulders of the Homeland Security secretary. A DHS memo from Chertoff shows that he did not put Brown in charge until two days after the hurricane slammed into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
The National Response Plan, which was enacted by DHS under a presidential directive, plainly outlines the chain of command for local, state and federal agencies when dealing with a large disaster. In cases in which "resources of State and local authorities are overwhelmed and federal assistance has been requested," the plan designates the DHS secretary as the "principal Federal official" for "domestic incident management."
Officials in the three most-affected states requested federal assistance for dealing with the hurricane before the storm struck, which, according to the Plan, would have automatically placed Chertoff in charge of "coordinating Federal resources utilized in response to or recovery from" Katrina as early as Saturday, August 27.
But, according to a memo from Chertoff, obtained by Knight Ridder news service, the DHS secretary did not declare Katrina an official "incident of national significance" until Tuesday, August 30, even though the Response Plan says that any time state officials are overwhelmed and ask for federal assistance, "national significance" status should be declared.
In that same memo, Chertoff passed responsibility of "principal federal official" for managing the disaster off to Brown, the head of FEMA at the time, who has since resigned. The "principal federal official," according to the Response Plan, must coordinate all other federal agencies in the government's relief operations.
By order of the president, that responsibility falls on the DHS secretary. According to an analysis by The NewStandard, nothing in the Plan or in the presidential directive that the Plan stems from indicates that Chertoff had the authority to pass that responsibility off to Brown, or any other official. By doing so, Chertoff put Brown, who already was managing FEMA, in charge of coordinating the efforts of the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Health, and Commerce, among others.
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Bush administration has dramatically centralized the nation's emergency response capabilities. In March 2003, the administration put FEMA, the premier agency for responding to national disasters, under the Homeland Security umbrella in order to bring a "coordinated approach to national security from emergencies and disasters – both natural and man-made."
Nine months later, the National Response Plan was enacted, laying out the protocols and lines of authority for coordinating and dealing with disaster preparation and relief. But it appears that government officials did not put the Plan into effect when the governors of the states slated to be hit by Hurricane Katrina asked for federal help.
Last night we noted the new Knight-Ridder article which shows DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff waiting some 36 hours to make the determination that Katrina was an 'Incident of National Significance'. Before that, Chertoff, not Michael Brown was in charge. And before Chertoff did that, Brown -- who's taken the big drubbing -- actually had little power to act.
This 'incident' finding is part of the new National Response Plan, which is supposed to govern federal responses to domestic disasters. Yet the plan appears to have been largely disregarded with Katrina.
But a TPM Reader pointed something out to me that suggests that Knight-Ridder might have gotten one detail wrong (or at least missed one) -- one which if anything makes the administration seem even more disorganized.
If you click here you can see a copy of the Chertoff memo which invoked the 'incident' finding.
But the reader points out that on page 7 of the Plan, it says quite clearly that "while all Presidentially declared disasters and emergencies under the Stafford Act are considered Incidents of National Significance, not all Incidents of National Significance necessarily result in disaster or emergency declarations under the Stafford Act.."
And if you go back to August 27th, this is just what President Bush did. He declared a state of emergency in the state of Louisiana under Title V of the Stafford Act.
Ergo, Katrina became an Incident of National Significance on August 27th -- two days before the storm. But Chertoff apparently didn't realize this and waited till a day after to make the determination on his own, one that according to the flow chart had already been made.
Lawyers and DHSers will know more about whether I've construed these sections correctly. (I certainly haven't read all 400+ pages of the document.) But they at least seem pretty clear.
KR Report: 'Confused' Chertoff Delayed Federal Katrina Response
By E&P Staff
Published: September 14, 2005 12:30 PM ET
NEW YORK In a major scoop, three reporters with Knight Ridder's Washington bureau report that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown, was the “federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina.”
In a damning allegation, they suggest that Chertoff “may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.”
The reporters -- Jonathan S. Landay, Alison Young and Shannon McCaffrey -- say this is based on federal documents they reviewed this week.
“Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast,” they report, “Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials.” Brown, they add, had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.
“As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water, and shelter in the days after Katrina's early morning Aug. 29 landfall, critics assailed Brown for being responsible for delays that might have cost hundreds of lives,” they write.
“But Chertoff -- not Brown -- was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.”
But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. “That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department,” the reporters observe.
Clark Hoyt, Knight Ridder's Washington editor, told E&P today: "This story evolved from a continuing line of reporting on accountability for the government's slow and initially ineffective response to Hurricane Katrina. It's our job, whether covering the origins of the war in Iraq or the federal government's slow response to the disaster on the Gulf Coast, to examine official decisions and performance. That's what we'll continue to do."
In their article, the KR reporters quote from the key Aug. 30 Chertoff memo: "As you know, the President has established the 'White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response.' He will meet with us tomorrow to launch this effort. The Department of Homeland Security, along with other Departments, will be part of the task force and will assist the Administration with its response to Hurricane Katrina.”
On the day that Chertoff wrote the memo, more than a day after the hurricane hit and with New Orleans already under water, Bush was in San Diego presiding over a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Chertoff's Aug. 30 memo for the first time declared Katrina an "Incident of National Significance," a key designation that triggers swift federal coordination. “The following afternoon,” the article continues, “Bush met with his Cabinet, then appeared before TV cameras in the White House Rose Garden to announce the government's planned action.
“That same day, Aug. 31, the Department of Defense, whose troops and equipment are crucial in such large disasters, activated its Task Force Katrina. But active-duty troops didn't begin to arrive in large numbers along the Gulf Coast until Saturday.
“White House and homeland security officials wouldn't explain why Chertoff waited some 36 hours to declare Katrina an incident of national significance and why he didn't immediately begin to direct the federal response from the moment on Aug. 27 when the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina would strike the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in 48 hours. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force.
“Chertoff's hesitation and Bush's creation of a task force both appear to contradict the National Response Plan and previous presidential directives that specify what the secretary of homeland security is assigned to do without further presidential orders. The goal of the National Response Plan is to provide a streamlined framework for swiftly delivering federal assistance when a disaster -- caused by terrorists or Mother Nature -- is too big for local officials to handle.”
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, didn't dispute that the National Response Plan put Chertoff in charge in federal response to a catastrophe.
“The Department of Homeland Security has refused repeated requests to provide details about Chertoff's schedule and said it couldn't say specifically when the department requested assistance from the military,” the reporters note. “Knocke said a military liaison was working with FEMA, but said he didn't know his or her name or rank. FEMA officials said they wouldn't provide information about the liaison.
“The Chertoff memo indicates that the response to Katrina wasn't left to disaster professionals, but was run out of the White House, said George Haddow, a former deputy chief of staff at FEMA during the Clinton administration and the co-author of an emergency management textbook.
"'It shows that the president is running the disaster, the White House is running it as opposed to Brown or Chertoff,' Haddow said. Brown 'is a convenient fall guy. He's not the problem really. The problem is a system that was marginalized.'
“A former FEMA director under President Reagan expressed shock by the inaction that Chertoff's memo suggested. It showed that Chertoff 'does not have a full appreciation for what the country is faced with -- nor does anyone who waits that long,' said Gen. Julius Becton Jr., who was FEMA director from 1985-1989.”
KR Report: 'Confused' Chertoff Delayed Federal Katrina Response
By E&P Staff
Published: September 14, 2005 12:30 PM ET
NEW YORK In a major scoop, three reporters with Knight Ridder's Washington bureau report that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown, was the “federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina.”
In a damning allegation, they suggest that Chertoff “may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.”
The reporters -- Jonathan S. Landay, Alison Young and Shannon McCaffrey -- say this is based on federal documents they reviewed this week.
“Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast,” they report, “Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials.” Brown, they add, had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.
“As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water, and shelter in the days after Katrina's early morning Aug. 29 landfall, critics assailed Brown for being responsible for delays that might have cost hundreds of lives,” they write.
“But Chertoff -- not Brown -- was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.”
But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. “That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department,” the reporters observe.
Clark Hoyt, Knight Ridder's Washington editor, told E&P today: "This story evolved from a continuing line of reporting on accountability for the government's slow and initially ineffective response to Hurricane Katrina. It's our job, whether covering the origins of the war in Iraq or the federal government's slow response to the disaster on the Gulf Coast, to examine official decisions and performance. That's what we'll continue to do."
In their article, the KR reporters quote from the key Aug. 30 Chertoff memo: "As you know, the President has established the 'White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response.' He will meet with us tomorrow to launch this effort. The Department of Homeland Security, along with other Departments, will be part of the task force and will assist the Administration with its response to Hurricane Katrina.”
On the day that Chertoff wrote the memo, more than a day after the hurricane hit and with New Orleans already under water, Bush was in San Diego presiding over a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Chertoff's Aug. 30 memo for the first time declared Katrina an "Incident of National Significance," a key designation that triggers swift federal coordination. “The following afternoon,” the article continues, “Bush met with his Cabinet, then appeared before TV cameras in the White House Rose Garden to announce the government's planned action.
“That same day, Aug. 31, the Department of Defense, whose troops and equipment are crucial in such large disasters, activated its Task Force Katrina. But active-duty troops didn't begin to arrive in large numbers along the Gulf Coast until Saturday.
“White House and homeland security officials wouldn't explain why Chertoff waited some 36 hours to declare Katrina an incident of national significance and why he didn't immediately begin to direct the federal response from the moment on Aug. 27 when the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina would strike the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in 48 hours. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force.
“Chertoff's hesitation and Bush's creation of a task force both appear to contradict the National Response Plan and previous presidential directives that specify what the secretary of homeland security is assigned to do without further presidential orders. The goal of the National Response Plan is to provide a streamlined framework for swiftly delivering federal assistance when a disaster -- caused by terrorists or Mother Nature -- is too big for local officials to handle.”
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, didn't dispute that the National Response Plan put Chertoff in charge in federal response to a catastrophe.
“The Department of Homeland Security has refused repeated requests to provide details about Chertoff's schedule and said it couldn't say specifically when the department requested assistance from the military,” the reporters note. “Knocke said a military liaison was working with FEMA, but said he didn't know his or her name or rank. FEMA officials said they wouldn't provide information about the liaison.
“The Chertoff memo indicates that the response to Katrina wasn't left to disaster professionals, but was run out of the White House, said George Haddow, a former deputy chief of staff at FEMA during the Clinton administration and the co-author of an emergency management textbook.
"'It shows that the president is running the disaster, the White House is running it as opposed to Brown or Chertoff,' Haddow said. Brown 'is a convenient fall guy. He's not the problem really. The problem is a system that was marginalized.'
“A former FEMA director under President Reagan expressed shock by the inaction that Chertoff's memo suggested. It showed that Chertoff 'does not have a full appreciation for what the country is faced with -- nor does anyone who waits that long,' said Gen. Julius Becton Jr., who was FEMA director from 1985-1989.”
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