The Associated Press has now uncovered even more facts surrounding the days leading up to Katrina.
 In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans’ Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage of the briefings.
Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on Aug. 29 but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.”
Funny how this information comes out after all the reports came out condemning the administrations preparation and handling of the disaster. It is more evident now that Michael Brown was made to be a scapegoat all along.
Going back to the “heckuva a job Browny” days and how Brown was quickly forced to resign, it is becoming more evident he was the administration’s scapegoat and now one can only wonder if that was the plan even before Katrina did hit. The administration just never thought he would stand up and come forward on everything.
Its no secret that FEMA has long been one of those government agencies that Republicans would like to drastically downsize or get rid of all together. Their opinion is that charities and churches are better for handling disaster aide. The problem is you still need someone to coordinate those efforts. Prior to Brown’s recent episode of truthiness, a plan to reduce FEMA may have been easy to get passed now.
Even more disturbing is the fact that Bush knew before hand how bad Katrina was going to be. He knew when the levees broke. He knew that it was one of the most major disasters in this nation’s history. What did he do? He continued his vacation then flew the opposite direction of the disaster for a photo op of him getting a guitar and even forced a hospital to cancel major procedures while he spoke. Clinton’s haircut doesn’t sound as bad now.
Congress should take another deep look into the response and preparation by the administration. They should also use their much needed subpoena power now to get the administration to testify under oath about what happened. The memory of at least 1300 Americans depend on it. The livelihood of hundreds of thousands deserve it.
ÂÂÂ