by Larry C. Johnson
The unfolding disaster along the Gulf Coast is only going to get worse, unfortunately. I spoke today to a friend in Louisiana who has two sons that serve in the Louisiana State Police.
There are still stories not fully covered by the media. My friend’s boys, for example, were in a shootout last night with a rampaging gang in New Orleans. When the sun goes down the jackals come out. We will see more images of Americans shooting Americans in the coming days.
Another big surprise is the virtual surrender and retreat by the New Orleans Police Department. One state trooper, for example, caught and disarmed a New Orleans policewoman who was trying to break into a jewelry store. This has been a failure of leadership across the board, starting with the Mayor then the Governor and finally President Bush.
 Intelligence: The Human Factor (Securing Our Nation) By Patrick Lang Editor: Larry C. Johnson |
The body count is going to go through the roof. Only now are mortuary teams preparing to enter New Orleans. The obvious failure to cope with the aftermath of the hurricane is the fault of Federal, State, and local officials. Consider the levee breach. A friend of mine experienced with crisis response was completely puzzled why Federal and State authorities did not seize and sink barges in the openings. That is an expedient solution to a levee collapse.
The inept response to this disaster is an ominous harbinger of things to come if terrorists hit us with the big one. Ignore for a moment that fact that this scenario in New Orleans had been identified as a potential threat we should prepare for. We should recognize that a terrorist armed with a nuclear weapon could not inflict the physical damage that the hurricane caused. Although a surprise terrorist strike could cause more casualties, only a sustained aerial bombardment could match the force and fury of Mother Nature.
The crisis response to a hurricane is the same as a response to a terrorist attack. Restoration or services, remediation, and humanitarian help are the same regardless of whether it is man made or nature made. The biggest problems in any response are always the same–chain of command (i.e., figuring out who is in charge) and communication.
It is inexcusable for the Bush Administration officials to claim they had no way of anticipating this disaster or planning for it. At least they’ve been consistent. We now know that the failure to plan for the aftermath in Iraq was but a precursor of things to come at home.
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Hopefully this debacle will inspire the Republican-controlled House and Senate to get off their asess and demand the Bush Administration explain how it will respond if terrorists detonate a nuclear device in the harbor of New York City or Los Angeles. We don’t know if or when such a tragedy will happen, but we do know it is something that could happen and that we should be prepared to handle. That is the purpose of holding crisis management exercises. You work on problems and potential solutions before you are in the midst of an actual crisis.
Given the scale of the disaster along the Gulf Coast it is essential that the response be Federalized and that NORTHCOM be put fully in charge of coordinating and directing the humanitarian and crisis response operation. Unlike the current head of FEMA, the Commander of NORTHCOM is an experienced officer who knows how to command large scale operations.
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… with snipers on rooftop for protection against sporadic arms fire targeted at the police.
Some police districts, up to 60% of force has left!
Reported by Jim Spellman of CNN, who is on the scene at police HQ in New Orleans French Quarter.
No response to emergency calls for the sick, injured or dying. There is hardly any communication possible, just some walkie talkies are operating.
Shame FEMA : shame DHS : shame Bush | Cheney administration!
Where have all the $$$ billions of US taxpayers gone?
Where are the basic services for the people starving and dying!
Where is the call on UN logistic support, honed for these emergency relief aid operations – heh JB!
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Well, the UN has offered help:
Should we make a pool on guessing when Bolton will respond? (‘never’ will give poor odds)
The pesky, corrupt UN-staff even have the audacity to collect funds for the victims </sn>.
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First days sitting on his hands, advocating to his surroundings, the US would coordinate the world relief effort, no need for the UN to kick in. A one man disaster, illegally occupying the Oval office with his cronies.
Tsunami Relief Effort
How the US government and the US press kicked Jan Egeland around for the slightest criticism of the world’s leading and richest nations, holding back in providing funds for the UN relief efforts.
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Heh,
As I recall, both you (as Creve Coeur) and I diaried about Egeland back in early January over at Kos..
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Opposing the UN and Jan Egeland, following the deceit & lies of the WH and Faux news. A lot has changed since – we must keep whacking those RW whackos!
by creve coeur ● Mon Jan 3rd, 2005
Good of you to recall take on UN and Jan Egeland.
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Someone on Air America radio this morning — I’m not sure who since I wasn’t listening throughout — said that she wouldn’t be surprised if some police officers have been shot and killed. It’s just that no one knows yet.
Just sent to me by JPol:
un-fucking-believeable
Just now on CNN Sheriff Steve Simmons from Leesburg Virgina reporting a similar thing.
His team was on the way when they were told to turn back, that they wouldn’t be let in.
The original request was from the Jefferson Parrish sheriff. Simmons said that they sounded panicked – said we’re losing control – get here as soon as you can.
They were told that reason they were being turned back was that there was no plce to put them. Simmons argued that they were self sufficent w/ food, tents, water, etc.
WTF is going on?
Larry,
That is absolutely right. I have spent many years doing contingency/disaster recovery planning and testing for the various companies I’ve worked for. Certainly nothing on the scale of what is required for a city, state, or nation but the same general rules apply.
The response at all levels has been wholly inadequate and speaks clearly of lack of preparedness at all levels of government.
And that is before we even consider that this scenario, almost exactly as it is playing out, had been predicted… including the levee breaks. It is before we consider that we knew this storm was going to hit and pretty close to where a couple days before it did. We even knew how strong it would be and what that meant in terms of devastation.
And it is before we consider that the government declared the area a disaster area BEFORE the storm even hit.
This last fact should have allowed all the proper placement and callups of supplies, materials, and manpower necessary to respond at first light Tuesday morning if not sooner.
Wednesday morning they were just starting callups and just starting to search for the material required to fill the gaps in the levees.
By then it was too late and 10’s of thousands were doomed.
What message does this send to our very real enemies?
Competency and leadership are to be highly valued in government. Too bad we have neither.
Things were so bad “you almost wonder if Donald Rumsfeld is in charge,”
said Marshall Wittmann, an analyst with the Democratic Leadership Council.
There’s really nothing more to say:
Oh I saw him! He still had that shit-eating grin of his … and he reeked of insincerity.
And I promise I say that as an objective observer. If he’d been truly compassionate, it would have been evident.
I’m for NORTHCOM taking charge too.
I don’t think Chertoff is up to this any more than his boy Mike Brown.
God, an estate planning attorney.
An afterthought: It’s always — always — very difficult to get corporate and gov’t heads to pay attention to disaster preparedness. When I worked for a vastly growing cell phone company that was acquiring other cell phone companies right and left, our headquarters was in former wetlands (sigh) north of Seattle. A woman I worked with had been heavily involved in disastser preparedness in the past, and she tried to tell the executives that, if there were an earthquake, all the buildings would sink into the soil. All computers, communications, everything would be gone. No one would listen to her.
I would like to personally disavow any connection with Mike Brown. I just saw this numb-nuts, for the first time, on television this morning. I have never seen such an ineffective ass.
If he were drafting a Will or Trust on my team, I’d fire him.
Bush in DC this morning…”The response in not acceptable”. Mobile Al: Alabama have done a fine job National Guard here better prepared than in Louisiana. NO response is acceptable. paraphrased.
Make up your f’ing mind George. And he called Kerry a flip flopper?
Larry…are you ready to roll? I am ready to go!!
Here’s a link about people who are still trapped and where they are, mostly, ill,elderly and disabled. If I can read this herein OR why can’t FEMA? I’m so sad and angry I can hardly function.
http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_nolaview/archives/2005_09.html#076148
Chertoff’s Katrina press conference yesterday had the “National Preparedness Month” banner behind him, if that don’t tell the story, I don’t know what does. Given this disaster and the wholesale lies our government is feeding us, I won’t be shocked if the “preparedness” involves duct tape and balloons as a flotation device.
This makes me sick not only for Katrina victims, but our military who are serving under these traitors. The stories of our military having to fend for themselves for equipment has a whole new meaning for me. They don’t have the press coverage showing failures in civilian leadership in living color.
We are all shocked and heart broken at the events in NO. Some times the outrage is just too much to bear, yet as we can try to imagine what those fellow citizens are going through we know we are safe, well fed and have our choice of what to drink in any moment we wish to drink it. So we cannot really imagine.
However, before we get too far down the road at laying blame. . .let us not pick up on the Republican talking points. . .those points that single out a Democratic Mayor, who has been pleading with the Feds since before the hurricane hit; the Democratic Governor who has been pleading for several years now to finish the levee project. The levee’s were 80% complete. And how can anyone suppose that they would be able to hold in the face of such a torrent of water? And blame is trying to be laid at the feet of the one Democratic Senator as well. . .oddly, no one mentions the Republican Senator as being culpable.
This is a RED state with a Dem Governor, one Dem Senator, and the Mayor of NO is also a Dem. . .a RED state. You understand where the taling points are coming from? I am not saying everyone doesn’t have some culpability here, but WHO was it that took the funding that Bill Clinton started to build up the levees? GWB and Co. . .said they needed it for Iraq, so sorry.
Go to Randi Rhodes web page to read the facts and the numerous local La newspapers constant questioning over the past 4 years about why there was no funding for the completion of the levees. . .find out for yourselves who is to blame here, if blame must be placed. And I think blame must be placed, but in the right proportions on the most culpable people.
YAY Shirlstars! you are right on! I associate myself with your comments.
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Offers from the International community and the United Nations, have been brushed aside by the ‘leaders’ of the Unites States.
From correspondents at the UN
NEW YORK UN HQ Sept. 02, 2005 — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the world to offer assistance to the US after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which he described as a “huge disaster”. “The damage is far worse than any of us imagined at first,” Mr Annan said in a statement released by his office.
“The American people, who have always been the most generous in responding to disasters in other parts of the world, have now themselves suffered a grievous blow. “I know that I speak for the whole world in offering them my heartfelt sympathy, and any assistance that the UN can give,” SG Annan added.
In Geneva, a UN spokeswoman said UN disaster assessment and co-ordination teams specialised in natural disasters had been placed on alert in a number of countries, and were ready to intervene in the hurricane-hit areas if requested by Washington.
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNCHA): “A worldwide alert has been sent to all national teams for natural disaster coordination and evaluation”. The six- to eight-man specialist teams comprise disaster experts – from doctors to geologists – with those closest to the US are able to deploy within six hours.
The various UN agencies – including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Food Program and refugee agency UNHCR – were meeting in New York to put together an offer of logistical support for the US, Ms Byrs said.
UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland earlier wrote to US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton to offer help in the wake of Hurricane Katrin.
This is a code of conduct befitting any previous totalitarian regime in history, holding up a pose to fool the world and its own citizens.
See Soviet Union – Communist China – North Korea – Cuba – Zimbabwe.
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A deliberate terrorist attack upon the levees might well have produced even worse horrors than those we are now seeing. I believe that this is what you mean by “this scenario.” Surely there must have been preparations during World War II to respond to sabotage upon the levees. Homeland Security should have had plans in place to respond to the aftermath of such an attack; plans that could be have been adapted to a wide variety of unfortunate events.
There are few valid reasons to be unprepared. There are many excuses.
From NIGHTLINE’s producer — jsut received. Please note paragraph 2:
There is no need for a terrorist attack. America is destroying itself in Iraq and nature has given George Bush a free hand to continue.
I don’t believe ALL the stories about “snipers” this is in part racist bull shit. This is white people getting all excited about abunch of teenagees with guns who are in gangs.
There is a report that 30 firefighters are being held down by sniper fire. Well I dont believe that’s accurate
you are being set up for the new SS. Security State. It’s on it’s way.
I;m not saying there aren’t people with guns. But what there purpose is and what they are actually doing is being distorted and exaggerated.
Larry’s right about the death toll — and the need for active troops!
AFP/Yahoo
Finding a crooked New Orleans policewoman is no surprise. It’s finding an honest on that would surprise most of us who know even a small bit about New Orleans. The New Orleans Police Department is probably less honest than the “White Mice” (City police if Saigon) who I have been told belonged to a criminal gang from the Mekong Delta.
This is going to expose the inherent crookedness of New Orleans which we from the Gulf Coast have all known about, but never had shoved in our face.
As for the lack of responsiveness, Emergency management requires an effective command and control system, and good contingency plans. This has demonstrated why military forces went to professional armies after the 30 Years War. Privatization does a bad job of command and professionalism. The Bush administration has been pushing to privatize FEMA for four years, and we now see the results.
In this case I understand there is a FEMA command center in Baton Rouge. There have been numerous stories, however, that demonstrate a total lack of effective communications and coordination between agencies. Yesterday the American Radio Relay League (Ham Radio organization) was asking people to sign up to help but not to yet because it wasn’t safe. Today the ARRL is announcing that it just got a $100,00 grant “help to fund “Ham Aid,” a new League program to support Amateur Radio volunteers deployed in the field in disaster-stricken areas.” Good idea. Why wasn’t it part of a FEMA contingency plan and instituted last Friday when the prediction that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were going to be hit?
Lack of planning.
What’s that old Army saying? PPPPPP? [Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance for you civilians.]
So far I have identified a lack of an effective chain of command, absence of planning, and failure to establish a communications system that allowed interagency coordination. We know about the budget cuts for the Corps of Engineers and ignoring the prior warnings of both the dangers of a hurricane and the probability that the levees would fail.
Bush has failed. FEMA has failed. The Republicans who run the federal government have failed. Their belief in privatization of government functions has failed.
I can’t say that Louisiana State government is covered in laurels, either, and New Orleans has lived down to it’s two century reputation for incompetence, but the biggest problems are at the federal level.
And yes, the body count is going to be horrific. How many Americans have died in New Orleans so that Bush could conduct his useless war in Iraq and get his tax cuts for the wealthy? Much of the body count is part of the price America is paying for electing Republicans and Bush.
Of course there’s a plan to deal with a terrorist attack — bomb Iran! There have been plenty of reports that say that, at the slightest terrorist provocation, Cheney plans to bomb Iran.
Unfortunately, it would bee a little hard to blame Katrina on Iran, although if you see Bush mentioning both Katrina and Iran together in speeches over the next few months, perhaps that will work as well as it did for 9/11 and Saddam Hussein.
Bob