Bush Apointee Chertoff’s Failure

2:09 pm EST September 14th, 2005 | Republicans | 3 Comments

It grows

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency chief 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 or 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 catastrophe, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government’s blueprint for how agencies handle major natural disasters and terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.

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. The memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his role and that of his department in disaster response.

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3 Responses to “Bush Apointee Chertoff’s Failure”

  1. SaveFarris says:
    September 14, 2005 at 4:09 pm

    As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water or 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.

    Of course, now we know that the critics were wrong thanks to the Red Cross. It was the LA Dept. of Homeland Security (under the “leadership” of Major General Bennett C. Landreneau) that made that particular call.

  2. elrod says:
    September 15, 2005 at 1:09 am

    No Ferris, the Feds could have provided all of the aid if not for Chertoff’s dereliction of duty.

  3. SaveFarris says:
    September 15, 2005 at 11:09 am

    That would have required the invasion of a soverign state. I thought you libs were against that.