"It shows that the president is running the disaster,..as opposed to Brown or Chertoff,"

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/20050914/ts_krwashbureau/_wea_katrina_response_exclusive

........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.

"Anytime you have a delay in taking action, there's a potential for losing lives," Becton told Knight Ridder. "I have no idea how many lives we're talking about. ... I don't understand why, except that they were inefficient." ........

[rodeodance]

1. To read the National Response Plan, go to:

To read the National Response Plan, go to: http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP(underscore)FullText.pdf

[rodeodance]

3. Chertoff's Aug. 30 memo is posted at www.krwashington.com

[Skidmore]

2. "running the disaster" is an interesting phrase

Running a disaster is a lot difference than running a response to disaster.

[rodeodance]

4. and Jr wants more power--yet obviously did not use the power he had.