You’ve probably already seen some or all of this, but in case you haven’t, the New York Times has a collection of documents online attempting to provide some references to the circus of failures that took place before, during, and after Katrina’s landfall.
While the media seems to be making a big fuss over how information like this seems to contradict Bush’s claim that he was unaware of how bad it was until the day after the storm (I say “seem to” in the sense that it’s entirely possible he could have been unaware…but the potential existed for him to be informed if he wished to be), I think a voice of reason needs to be inserted.
The failures in the wake of Katrina were not strictly at the White House level. There’s plenty of blame to go around. For example, there is some documentation that the City of New Orleans rejected outside assistance early on…a fatal mistake on their part. The State could have done more to coordinate. And, yes, the feds could have been a little more proactive about getting resources in place to assist with rescue and recovery once the storm passed.
I’m particularly amazed at the attention being given to how a FEMA public affairs officer took a picture of one of the levee breaks on Monday. Folks, if anyone had been paying attention, they would have known about some of the breaks. I distinctly remember the flood warning going up Monday morning when the first levee went.
Gah, looks like this is just more finger-pointing, drawing on selective memories, and political maneuvering, wasting time on fixing the weaknesses in planning that existed last year.