Landreneau Wildfire (But There Came a Killing Wind)
Lots of recent references to Major General Bennett C. Landreneau in the blogosphere. For example, here's Christopher Fotos:
Stephen Spruiell, of course, knows the answer to his own question:
Underreported News
The Guy Who Kept the Red Cross Out of the Superdome
Why doesn't America know this guy's name?
This guy being Louisiana Homeland Security chief Major General Bennett C. Landreneau, as noted at From the Swamp....In Susan Glasser and Michael Grunwald's 6,200-word review of the disaster published Sunday, his administrative blockade of Red Cross and Salvation Army relief to the dome was never mentioned. The blockade was first reported by Major Garrett, and pretty much last reported by him too.
And, of course, I've already talked about Media Lies, Winds of Change, and the two sequential posts [1] [2} by DJ Drummond.
So, what can we find in the traditional news feeds (as reported by news.yahoo.com)? Well, we can find this:
Meantime, authorities in New Orleans had to use scarce helicopters to search for flood victims while Air Force Predator drones, which could have scoured the drowned city day and night by using infrared and optical sensors to spot victims for rescue, sat idle at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
And there simply weren't enough helicopters available.
"We have 100 aircraft doing search and rescue. We need to double that," a frustrated Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau said in an interview four days after New Orleans' storm-battered levees gave way.
But there is no provision in any emergency plan for using Predators to search, saving helicopters for rescue. The National Response Plan, written by the Department of Homeland Security, doesn't mention unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Nor does the Pentagon's Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support, which sets out its responsibilities for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
So federal authorities dithered, stumbling over issues of jurisdiction, logistics and the law -- specifically, whether survivor searches would constitute illegal spying on American civilians.
Meanwhile, Landreneau didn't talk about the buses that sat in the water.
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