Newsweek: The Back-Channel Chatter After Katrina (emails show WH in chaos)

[sabra]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11434022/site/newsweek/

The Back-Channel Chatter After Katrina
A series of previously unreleased e-mails shows an administration in chaos in the wake of the storm.


By Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

Feb. 27, 2006 issue - At 9 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, FEMA Director Michael Brown appeared on "Larry King Live" and announced, "This is a catastrophic disaster... We've got some storm surges that have come across the levees." Less than an hour later, at 9:51, Brown received ane-mail from White House chief of staff Andy Card, who told him he had been kept "well-informed about your reports. Anything you want me to do??" Brown replied, "Thanks for writing, Andy. This is a bad one. Housing, transportation and environment could be long term issues."

...

Six months later, there still isn't a clear account of what Bush and his top aides were doing in the hours and days after the levees crumbled and the misery set in. The prolonged confusion is partly explained by the White House's refusal to turn over many of the records and e-mails requested by the Senate and a special House committee investigating the fiasco. In a blistering report last week, the Republican-led House committee said the poor response "cost lives" and "prolonged suffering."

Brown, now trying to restore his image, gave Congress a set of e-mails sent as the catastrophe unfolded. The e-mails, obtained by NEWSWEEK, provide the latest—though still incomplete—picture of senior officials' chatter amid the chaos.

Four days after Katrina hit, on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 1, it was finally clear to everyone that things had gone horribly wrong. But Brown and other officials seemed mired in office politics. Brooks Altshuler, Brown's policy director, worried that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was growing unhappy with Brown's performance. "Please talk up the Secretary during your press avails I.e. 'Solid team with solid support from the secretary etc.'" Altshuler wrote his boss. "Unconfirmed, but people are noticing and they are reading into friction... " Brown angrily responded that he had told the Homeland secretary that his numerous phone calls were "killing me... He assures me he is not trying to interfere, but they are literally driving me crazy... "

[lovuian]

1. You knew the bureaucracy fell completely apart

the only one who bailed them out was mayor White from Houston... otherwise nobody else would have acted...

[madrchsod]

2. bush and his top aides

were doing nothing and that is clear to anyone who can think rationally. it didn`t matter to them at all and it still doesn`t. god help us if some other city is destroyed

[aquart]

6. Wait till next summer.

[reprobate]

33. The buzz is that it could be worse.

[kayice]

20. The aides were too busy discussing who would have to tell

B*sh he would have to cut his vacation short. Then they had to put together that little news disc so the twit would have a clue what was actually happening in the Gulf.

[Tab]

3. The sad thing is

I have a friend who lived in New Orleans for about 9 years (he had moved out by the 80s).

In the mid-80s we were talking, and I was quizzing him about New Orleans, because I had always wanted to visit. He regaled me with stories of the culture, the food, the music, Mardi Gras (the smarter residents leave), Jazz Fest (the smarter visitors come), everything.

I distinctly remember one of these conversations where he was describing how New Orleans was unique because it was below sea level, and god help them if a major hurricane ever came up New Orlean's butt. The city would be destroyed because it was basically protected from the sea only by a system of levees, and that was it. A hurricane that was on-target would do inestimable damage. Fortunately, it hadn't happened yet, but at some point it would probably be inevitable.

So, as far back as, say, 1987 (or actually earlier, given when he lived there), the residents knew this was a nightmare scenario in the offing.

I don't know how FEMA works, but I would like to think they have disaster preparedness plans for certain situations. Earthquakes, tornados, what have you, but since New Orleans is our only major city below sea level (to my knowledge), and it was well known (if the residents knew, I assume it was well known) that a hurricane coming right up into NOLA would be its downfall, I can't imagine why FEMA didn't have some disaster preparedness plan for that. We can't necessarily pin that failure on Mike Brown, but over the decades, you'd think that SOMEONE would have done a review and set up a plan. Otherwise, what sort of "Emergency Management" is the Federal Emergency Management Agency prepared to do?

[caligirl]

4. Think Hayward Fault. North end near Berkeley supposed to get hit hard.

[orleans]

7. they did have a plan.

hurricane pam exercise:
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051

[barb162]

9. One of the things that came out was that the City's plan was goofed up too

The school buses were not under city control though the busses were in the city's plan. The evacuation never received any kind of "run through" even on paper I guess. Somehow the city assumed the busses would just be there. I think there were mistakes on all levels of government on this one.

The other major thing I noticed all along was the levees were never built to withstand anything but a category 3 hurricane. There were articles in the NOLA Times Picayune and other publications on this years before the hurricane hit.

The third thing and it just isn't about NOLA but it is about people who insist on living on or near the beaches in hurricane areas. Gee, hurricanes have storm surges... I think anything on or near a beach should be national seashore except for port facilities.

(PS Same goes for people who live on or near rivers and lakes. The view is nice but flooding happens eventually)

[geomon666]

11. Well I'm glad that's settled.

Don't expect any help if your own plan doesn't work and what about people that didn't live near the coast and still had their homes wiped out? Should be living that close to land I guess.

Oh, just to clarify, Katrina hit as a category 3.

[barb162]

29. No it's not settled at all and a lot more went wrong than that

as we all know. But you seem to have a problem with my comment on living near water. Would you explain that? DO you have a problem with high rise condos being built on sandbars or do you think there should be zoning restrictions on that. Do you think those exact same sandbars are nature's way of protecting the land. I know Katrina hit as a cat 3 but it still had those cat 5 storm surges (up to 29 feet)when it hit the coast.

[geomon666]

36. Well...

I don't think it's right to say 'tough s***' to someone because they live near the water and have their home flooded out. My comment about Katrina being a category was in response to your comment about the New Orleans levees only being designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane. Also with dealing with a storm surge that high, sandbars aren't going to do a damn thing.

[Timefortruth]

18. Were they flying buses?

All roads out were blocked. There was no where to go. The number of people who could have been transported as a portion of those stranded was small. If the federal government had done their job no one would have died in the Super dome.

Almost everyone in NO was "near a levey" and subject to harm when they failed.

Today, right now, in Hope Arkansas 11,000 trailers commissioned by FEMA are deteriorating because they are stored improperly. FEMA has no plans to distribute those trailers to the homeless. FEMA's "plan" as far as anyone can tell, is to wait until the mobile homes are useless and have them hauled to the dump.

[barb162]

30. yeah, just like flying elephants. Now come on

the city waited a long time before they made the announcement to evacuate IMHO. At the same time I can see why they waited as who wants to evacuate a few hundred thousand before you pretty well know it's aimed at you. But the National Hurricane Center was saying for a few days it was aimed at NOLA.

With global warming and more and stronger hurricanes expected every year, I hope the whole SE coast figures something out. Environmentalists are clearly indicating the sandbars and barrier islands should be left in their natural state. Unfortunately people are building on them.

[Timefortruth]

34. The internal evacuation plan worked.

It is not what destroyed the city. Complaining about buses is an absurd distraction.

Katrina is still happening.

[barb162]

35. Complaining about buses is an absurd distraction????

You are still missing what I am writing, I think.

Lots of people, especially the poor and handicapped, had no way to get out, right? Then busses become a major issue, right? If the city had no right to the buses, it is not an absurd distraction and the internal plan worked maybe only on paper, but not in reality. I will agree Katrina is still happening.

[finecraft]

25. So how far inland do you want people to live?

The storm surge from Hurricane Rita flooded the Port of Iberia, which is located 21 MILES inland from the Gulf of Mexico. The FEMA designated base flood elevation for Cameron Parish was 11 feet. FEMA now says that their revised maps will show the base flood elevation will be 23 feet. The average elevation of the entire state of Louisiana is only 30 feet above sea level. Do we make the entire state a national seashore?

[barb162]

31. The people of that state and others will have to figure that out.

I know they found dead dolphins at least five miles inland in Mississippi and St. Bernard Parish was a total mess. I think with global warming and more people moving to the coasts, there's just a collision course with the reality of constant disasters because there will be more and powerful hurricanes annually What I would ask is how many times does a person's house have to be destroyed before that person stops rebuilding in that same spot. And I would be listening to the environmental engineers very, very closely

[sandnsea]

13. They don't believe in GOVERNMENT

After Andrew, we had a FEMA that could have handled Katrina. That's because we had an Administration who believed in GOVERNMENT. Republicans DO NOT. They really do get anal about people using a bag of ice to keep a beer cold, that is really what they think people are doing because they have money and friends with money and will never need to sleep in a tent after a natural disaster. They believe private industry and private charity do a better job than government, so they are dismantling government. The only thing that is surprising to me is that so many people still don't understand what happened and why it's still happening.

And yeah, it's pretty common knowledge that New Orleans was under sea level and a direct-hit hurricane would be a disaster. I've known that as long as I can remember knowing geography and I grew up in California.

[loudsue]

17. Thank you, sandnsea.

Republicans DON'T believe in government, which is WHY WE SHOULD GET THEM OUT OF GOVERNMENT!!!

Governments are instituted for the purpose of a coordinated effort to support the smooth flow of daily living. People who have a well-coordinated government, a government of fair laws and consistent policies, have the peace they need to prosper and grow.

The republicans HATE government and LOVE business. Business is operated by greed, and greed alone. The whole purpose of business is to make a profit. That's no way to provide fair laws and consistent policies, as profit-making efforts shift quickly and unpredictably, and are designed to benefit the bottom line of the owners, NOT the "whole" of the people, or individuals of a society.

Until government is the "boss" over business, rather than business being the "boss" over government, the whole world is in trouble.

:kick::kick::kick:

[llmart]

24. Quite an accurate summary on your part.....

but we have been brainwashed ever since Raygun to believe that business is the end all and be all of this country. Raygun's administration was the beginning of the end for the middle and lower classes in this country.

[area51]

21. Well said.

"The only thing that is surprising to me is that so many people still don't understand what happened and why it's still happening."

That's how I feel, too.

[Barrett808]

27. It's a good thing the adults were in charge. n/t

[DeltaLady]

5. A military response, that's what they're geared for.

One of the sticking points was **sh's insistence that Blanco sign papers that would give the feds the ability to declare martial law. Since she balked, and did not go along with handing over state sovereignty, they were clueless on how to proceed. What they won't tell the american people is IF and WHEN there is a terrorist incident in a major city with the potential to affect hundreds of thousands the core of their plan has nothing to do with protecting THOSE people; it will be on protecting the american government. Any of you are as disposable as the citizens of New Orleans in their book. They will send in the military and use whatever means they deem necessary up to and including quarantining the masses. (that's the purpose of those FEMA camps) It will be done at gunpoint, and any who object will be summarily shot.

[Dhalgren]

8. Welcome to DU, DeltaLady.

I wish I could point out the reasons why you are wrong in your assessment, but I can't. I think that you are dead-on. As one long-time DUer signs off in discussions like this, "See you in the camps"...

[DeltaLady]

10. Our enemies know without a doubt that hitting NOLA

is pointless; obviously the executive branch doesn't give a fig about it, so my biggest worry is another "perfect storm." :sarcasm:

My house may be in tatters, but I've found a wonderful home here at DU.

[sandnsea]

14. They weren't clueless

They just refused to do it. You think my governor signed over anything when they sent tons of military in to fight fires?? It's bullshit. They made these decisions on purpose so nobody could get in the way of their little non-governmental "free market" disaster relief experiment.

[rodeodance]

15. "Please talk up the Secretary during your press avails I.e.".......

.......Brooks Altshuler, Brown's policy director, worried that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was growing unhappy with Brown's performance. "Please talk up the Secretary during your press avails I.e. 'Solid team with solid support from the secretary etc.'" Altshuler wrote his boss. "Unconfirmed, but people are noticing and they are reading into friction... "

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. "Six months later, there still isn't a clear account"

Give me a break. There's a clear account of what they did which was nothing and we have the pictures to prove it.


The first problem is Bush's annual month long vacation.


'Like President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and homeland-security adviser Frances Townsend, Card was on vacation when the hurricane struck. Back at the White House, the job of monitoring the storm was left to Kenneth Rapuano, Townsend's deputy.'


Good thing bin Laden and al Qaeda don't have internet access because they would know the best time to attack the US is in August because no one is home in the WH and when disaster strikes they hardly seem to notice.

[annabanana]

16. k& r. . . . . . eom

[YvonneCa]

19. Here's where Bush was...

...on vacation again...in San Diego.


http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/4909271/detail.html

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/4912531/detail.html


>>>>>>>>>
Air Force One touched down at Naval Air Station North Island Monday. The president and first lady Laura Bush arrived at the Coronado base about 4:30 p.m. following brief stops earlier in the day in Ontario, Calif., and Arizona. The president did not speak to reporters, who were hoping he might say something about Hurricane Katrina.

Several military officials met the president before he was escorted to the Hotel Del Coronado in a presidential limousine. The president and first lady spent the night there.

Following the address, the president paid a visit to the Naval Medical Center San Diego in Balboa Park.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was also in San Diego Monday. Rumsfeld hung out with the boys of summer at Petco Park, watching the Padres game from a skybox. Earlier Monday, Rumsfeld met with 1,000 soldiers and civilians at the national training center in Fort Irwin, where he awarded Purple Hearts.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



:patriot:

[Carni]

22. We had our first taste of this incompetence during the big "power outage"

No way to get gas for days, no way to get money to buy anything, supposedly contaminated water (it wasn't but they told us it was) and on and on...

I don't mean to say that the power outage was in any way NEAR as bad as Katrina (obviously not so please don't think I am downgrading Katrina) I am just saying that the utter lack of any kind of perparedness even for a massive power outage was mind boggling.

There was no communication of any kind except from local government and that was a joke because they had no way to advise anyone on what the hell to do except "boil water" and listen to local radio for updates (yeah that was helpful)

There weren't even any cops out and about doing anything...driving was like a free for all every man for himself adventure.

I thought WTF? What if there is a terra attack now? (Or what if this WAS a terra attack because at the time the seemed to be clueless as to what caused the outage)

Maybe I am naive or stupid but what does it take to require gas stations to have at least one manual pump per station in the event of a long term power outage?

Or at the very least couldn't civic centers make a plan to have such equipment for such situations?

I would think some of these things are just basic common sense.

[depakid]

23. But, but... Joe Lieberman says it's all FEMA's fault...

Might be better to have a Republican in that seat than a highly visable (and pathetic sounding) man who consistently enables the opposition and works against the interests of his own party.

Here we have more evidence of Republican incompetance- and rather than run with that- what does he do?

[JudyM]

26. Right, so, um, how are they going to protect us from terrorists? n/t

[AndyTiedye]

28. We KNOW What Bush** Was Doing. We've Got Pictures

there still isn't a clear account of what Bush and his top aides were doing in the hours and days after the levees crumbled and the misery set in.

BUSH** was doing this:


While New Orleans was drowning:

[Burried News]

32. The Whitehouse wasn't IN Chaos it IS CHAOS.