Mac wrote:I've read and read and read and read reports from various sources--both media and otherwise--regarding what the governor/mayor/president/FEMA did or did not do.
Based upon everything I've read, and my personal experience in the field of emergency management/disaster response, here is how I think this is going to pan out in the end.
Bush did the right thing by declaring an emergency before the storm even hit. I think he generally tried to do a lot of things right. But his major fault in all of this is:
1. Putting the wrong guy in charge of FEMA
2. Not invoking the Insurection Act, which would have enabled the federal government to take control of the situation--regardless of what the governor of LA liked it or not.
The Federal government should have been able to take control of the situation as soon as a state of emergency & a major disaster were declared by the governor & President (something that happened well before the storm even arrived). On page 43 & 44 of the NRP it states that in the case of a catostrophic event:
■ Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances,
suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of
catastrophic magnitude; and
■ Notification and full coordination with States will occur,
but the coordination process must not delay or impede
the rapid deployment and use of critical resources.
States are urged to notify and coordinate with local
governments regarding a proactive Federal response.
In addition, the FCO is given the responsibility to assess need and provide aid, as outlined in my response to mf_dolphin above.
Now, if you are referring to the use of active duty soldiers to both provide aid
and perform law enforcement functions, it appears that the Stafford Act may allow the President to circumvent Posse Comitatus. This is from Section 886 of the Department of Homeland Security Act:
(4)
Nevertheless, by its express terms, the Posse Comitatus Act is not a complete barrier to the use of the Armed Forces for a range of domestic purposes, including law enforcement functions, when the use of the Armed Forces is authorized by Act of Congress or the President determines that the use of the Armed Forces is required to fulfill the President's obligations under the Constitution to respond promptly in time of war, insurrection, or other serious emergency.
(5)
Existing laws, including chapter 15 of title 10, United States Code (commonly known as the `Insurrection Act'), and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), grant the President broad powers that may be invoked in the event of domestic emergencies, including an attack against the Nation using weapons of mass destruction, and these laws specifically authorize the President to use the Armed Forces to help restore public order.http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/hsa2002.pdfNow, unless I am reading that wrong, the President had no need to use the Insurrection Act. As soon as he invoked the Stafford Act, he could have used active duty soldiers to restore law & order.
Mayor Nagin failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation from the get-go. He failed to issue mandatory evacuations when he should have, and he failed to execute the city's emergency response plan as he should have. Had he done the things he should have, FEMA and the fed govt would not have been dealing with nearly the human crisis that it was faced with.
Actually, Mayor Nagin followed the existing ERP pretty closely - within a couple of hours, as far as the evac order goes:
Slow developing weather conditions (primarily hurricane) will create increased readiness culminating in an evacuation order 24 hours (12 daylight hours) prior to predicted landfall.
Most of the problems, it seems, were not with the Mayor's execution of the plan - they were with the plan itself. There are contradictions as far as how long an evac would take, and after the Hurricane Pam exercise there were several glaring faults - including the lack of reliable transportation for the thousands of NO residents without cars. As I understand it, officials at the state, city and federal levels were supposed to work out the kinks at some point, but never did. So when Katrina hit...well, I guess you work with the plan you have, not with the one you wish you had....
She lacked the resources that were needed to get the job done, and she grossly mismanaged what resources she did have. She should have stepped out of the way early in the game and let the federal govt get in there to take charge. Unfortunately, she continues this nonsense to this very minute.
Isn't that why someone declares a major disaster and calls in FEMA? Because they don't have the resources to manage the event alone? I won't argue with the fact that there were some very odd and irresponsible things done at the state level (the restrictions on the Red Cross, for example), but its ludicrous to expect any state to have the resources at hand to cope with the aftermath of an event like this. Thats why we have a "state of emergency".
They are primarily tasked with coordination of resources, rather than providing all of the resources. The state/local governments are primarily responsible for providing the response resources and law enforcement resources. The governor failed miserably to coordinate and utilize what resources were made available to her.
Again, neither of these things is true. When the state government is overwhelmed it is the federal governments job to provide and coordinate resources. Thats what FEMA gets funding for, and thats why the position of Federal Coordinating Officer exists...
I also think the media shares some blame in this, although I doubt they will ever own up to their part. They sensationalized and played on the blame game because it made for good ratings. They can live with their shame in this too.
I have yet to see any proof of this "sensationalizing." The pictures from the Superdome, the Convention Center and the Mississippi coast said it all....the damage was catostrophic, the human misery was on a scale unheard of in the USA, and the response was tragically slow....how do you sensationalize that???
