Fox News' Major Garrett says needed aid blocked by state

[soonertwister]

Weblog site Radioblogger reports that in an interview of Major Garrett with Hugh Hewitt just a short while ago, that aid agencies told Garrett that they were blocked from pre-positioning aid prior to Hurricane Katrina's landfall, and the state continued to block their aid for days after Katrina's winds had passed.

MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don't want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they're more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in.

Much much more in the text of the interview found on Radioblogger:

http://www.radioblogger.com/

[stormie_skies]

If that is all he said, then he is clearly not telling the whole story. This is from the Red Cross website:

Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?


Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

So it seems to me that while the National Guard may have physically kept the Red Cross from entering, it was under the direction of - or on the advice of - HSD/FEMA. How much of that decision was made by the state and how much was made by the feds doesn't really seem clear at this time.

[oneness]

I doubt anyone could starve to death in a week. (ok, maybe a diabetic or someone with pre-existing chronic malnutrition could perhaps)

Yes, people were very physically uncomfortable, but so what? People can easily survive 2-3 weeks with no food and a full recovery prognosis (particularly well-fed westerners).

What is for sure though, FEMA could not pour necessities for a hundred thousand recalcitrant non-evacuees along the choked and very limited supply route options remaining in NO, for a population that was comfortable to stay put in a festering sewer.

That is not a viable 'solution' to anything. All they needed in immediate terms was water and if they didn’t have it, all the more incentive for them to move to where they could get it.

What of it?

Edit: baby formula etc would be necessary though

[soonertwister]

If that is all he said, then he is clearly not telling the whole story. This is from the Red Cross website:

Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?


Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

So it seems to me that while the National Guard may have physically kept the Red Cross from entering, it was under the direction of - or on the advice of - HSD/FEMA. How much of that decision was made by the state and how much was made by the feds doesn't really seem clear at this time.

That was the governor's State of Lousiana Office of Homeland Security that had ordered the Louisiana National Guard to block their assistance.

More evidence of obstruction by Governor Blanco, who no doubt will be recalled after all the dust is settled.

[x-y-no]

If that is all he said, then he is clearly not telling the whole story. This is from the Red Cross website:

Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?


Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

So it seems to me that while the National Guard may have physically kept the Red Cross from entering, it was under the direction of - or on the advice of - HSD/FEMA. How much of that decision was made by the state and how much was made by the feds doesn't really seem clear at this time.

Actually, that does say "the state Homeland Security Department" which implies it was the State of Louisiana. I agree however that this is yet another area that isn't totally clear - definitely something any commission looking into events should dig deeply in.

[stormie_skies]

Ack! Sorry guys....I missed the "state" part.....my mistake. Perhaps this part was a screw-up solely on the states end. Then again, they could have been acting on the advice of the national HSD....ugh, who knows.... I have serious doubts that anyone has clean hands here....

What a mess.

[soonertwister]

Every state has been required by federal law to create their own homeland security departments, which are controlled by the states, and federally-mandated to demonstrate benchmark levels of proficiency in response to disasters. I'm not sure what those benchmarks are, or when they are supposed to be attained, but they are out there to be found somewhere.

We have been running disaster preparedness drills in this state (and locally) for some time now as a result of this legislation.

[shaggy]

major garrett was on with bret hume lastnight when i got off of work and i watched his interview this is what i personally heard from him.

He said the STATE of LA homeland security blocked the red cross from entering because they didn't want more people going to the already overcrowded and tense superdome or convention center.He got that from a high ranking person in the red cross.Then when things started getting bad in NOLA FEMA asked Blanco for complete control over law enforcement and NG and she denied them saying that LA had it under control.This is part of the reason why the Feds activated 40,000 troops because the state NG was not being used accordingly.He also had a copy of the LA evac policies and it stated that on the approach of a cat 3-4-5 that there were over 100,000 in NOLA that had to be evaced by state agencies because they were to poor or needed special services.NONE of those people were evaced according to the plan!!

the ball was far 2 big for the local govenrment of LA to handle and they dropped it and when it made a mess they are trying to blame the Feds! LA local government should have alot to answer for!

[cmdebbie]

the ball was far 2 big for the local govenrment of LA to handle and they dropped it and when it made a mess they are trying to blame the Feds! LA local government should have alot to answer for!

Agree, 110%!!!

[eolian]

I think once this is current crisis is resolved and time for hearings has come and gone in the end i hope we see some accountability here, with some prison time for negligence dished out to those who deserve it...!

[Cookiely]

The owner of the nursing home where they found 30-40 bodies should do some serious prison time.

[KG4HPN]

Unlikely...as I understand it, she hasn't been heard from since Monday and quite likely died in the storm with her patients. Can't find the link to the story now, was posted in another thread here about the nursing home fatalities. Pretty gruesome article.

-Jet

[Windy]

Weblog site Radioblogger reports that in an interview of Major Garrett with Hugh Hewitt just a short while ago, that aid agencies told Garrett that they were blocked from pre-positioning aid prior to Hurricane Katrina's landfall, and the state continued to block their aid for days after Katrina's winds had passed.

MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don't want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they're more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in.

Much much more in the text of the interview found on Radioblogger:

http://www.radioblogger.com/

Gee, better not play "the blame game". Well, okay, let's play the blame game, but only our side can play.

[artist]

I also hears another reason they were blocked was they wanted to get everyone out because of the water - yet they didn't even call up but 2000 national guard to be at the ready. The national guard - state homeland security head today said they felt that was plenty at the time.

Also heard they have received ( the army corps of LA) have received 1.9 billion $'s for the levee system yet very little had ever been spent on it. They did find where a couple hundered thousand had been spent near the levee (can't remember what it was exactly)