Former FEMA chief Michael Brown isn't taking the "patsy" role lying down. Today he told the Senate Oversight Commitee that the Department of
Homeland Security was so focused on terrorism that natural disasters had become a "step child." He went on to say that Homeland Security knew about
the levee breeches earlier than previously claimed.
news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON - Top Department of Homeland Security officials were told about New Orleans' levee failures the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore,
former disaster chief Michael Brown said Friday, contradicting agency officials who said earlier they were unaware of the severity of the problems
until the next day.
"I find it a little disingenuous," Brown, who at the time headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told a Senate oversight committee. "For
them to claim that we didn't have awareness of it is just baloney."
Brown also told senators that decisions and policies by the parent Homeland Security Department doomed FEMA to "a path to failure" that led to the
government's slow response to the storm. He said that because of a focus on terrorism, natural disasters "had become the stepchild of the Department
of Homeland Security."
In an appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that blended an atmosphere of both cooperation and
confrontation, Brown went far further than he had previously in blaming other elements of the Bush administration for the government's halting
reaction to the massive storm.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
I was curious to see how Brown would spin this today, and it's interesting that he seems to have come out with "guns blazing". Reports that came
out just previous to his statements today (see links) seem to indicate that he's at least right about the timeline of when the Feds knew about the
levees and the seriousness of the issue. What will happen because of all this? Hopefully a better disaster response policy on the part of FEMA and
ultimately the Department of Homeland Security.
Related News Links:
news
.yahoo.com
www.nytimes.com
[edit on 13-2-2006 by DJDOHBOY]
