Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

by **Qutb** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:59 am

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows BY JONATHAN S. LANDAY, ALISON YOUNG AND SHANNON MCCAFFREY Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show. Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown 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. 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. "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," Chertoff said in the memo to the secretaries of defense, health and human services and other key federal agencies. On the day that Chertoff wrote the memo, 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, 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. <a href="http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/politics/12637130.htm">www.timesleader.com/mld/t...637130.htm</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1778603" target="top">Democratic Underground</a> Qutb means "axis," "pole," "the center," which contains the periphery or is present in it. The qutb is a spiritual being, or function, which can reside in a human being or several human beings or a moment. It is the elusive mystery of how the divine gets delegated into the manifest world and obviously cannot be defined. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=qutb>Qutb</A> at: 9/14/05 8:04 am

by **dbeach** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:14 am

"Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown 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." Mickey big bro chertoff delayed on this one BUT he won't delay when its time to round-up the dissidents.. 1984 . thanx bush/cheney/bliar/quennie

by **Starman** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:10 pm

Oh, the bleedin' tragicomic irony -- While Chertoff was promoting Disaster Preparation Month and spouting off about 'disaster preparation alertness' and how important it was to have a carefully organized Master Action Plan to coordinate local, state and Federal response to natural or caused emergencies, this catastrophe of the Katrina storm and its aftermath erupted in full-blown view, storm tracked, disaster predicted, urgent warnings widely broadcasted almost 72 hours before the storm struck, and the incredible, horrific failure of those agencies and departments specifically tasked to respond in a timely, comprehensive manner amply, substantially documented by a mainstream (and alternative) news-media that had NO real difficulty accessing the sites of unfolding human tragedy aggravated by total lack of information and material aid assistance to the stranded New Orleans storm-and-shelter survivors. The sight of unimpeded traffic driving back-and-forth on the I-10 bridge where stranded New Orleans storm survivors were being ignored while (aswe now know) actively prevented from simply walking-out and rescuing themselves is a blaring, damning indictment of a ruling-class bureaucracy that is out-of-touch with the real world, incapable of rational thinking or addressing critical human needs -- ONLY if the heads of FEMA and Homeland Security, especially Chertoff for his criminal misfeasance in not performing his duties, are strictly held accountable and recieve lengthy prison-sentences for their culpability in the totally-preventable loss-of-life and de facto manslaughter of hundreds of lives in New Orleans, will any real justice be demonstrated or effective reform of this nation's disaster response occur. But I'm not holding my breath. American 'leadership' has devolved into making excuses and evading responsibility -- it it any wonder opportunitsts take advantage of massive corruption by means of sweetheart deals and crony-contracts, such as with Halliburton's Navy reconstruction contract ('won' with the behind-the-scenes lobbying of FEMA's previous director Albaugh) -- there's NO sense of honour or integrity or honesty left, the biggest golldang 'looters' are the corporate officials profitting off of disasters -- the concepts of public interest and civic spirit have been defiled as the Federal Mafia moguls plunder unhindered by such old-fashioned notions as integrity -- its 'grab while the gettin's good, boys!' Pathetic is too mild a term for it. Starman

by **antiaristo** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 6:44 pm

"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," Chertoff said in the memo to the secretaries of defense, health and human services and other key federal agencies. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force. This looks like a possible smoking gun. It's the standard MO. It's the story of the OSP and tha WHIG all over again. Sealed covert units operating in parallel or within established operations. The de Menezes murder. The Attorney General (UK) and his opinion. On and on. Secret societies given free reign throughout the Bureaucracy. Then disappearing like magic.

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

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Re: Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

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