Will Major General Bennett C. Landreneau take responsibility?
Regarding Bush's statement in which he took responsibility for Federal failings post-Katrina, Michael Hanscom said the following:
At least he’s actually acting like a President for once. Pity that it took this long, this big of a catastrophe, this many dead people, and I’d bet that it’s motivated more by his tanking approval rate than any real sense of responsibility…but at least it’s something.
To which I commented:
So, have the governor and mayor taken responsibility for THEIR failings yet?
Seriously, I can guarantee that if Bush moved into New Orleans on Day 0, evacuated everyone (whether they liked it or not), and sent the looters to Guantanamo Bay, people STILL wouldn’t be happy.
Here's what Tom Barret says (next to a picture of the submerged buses):
There is no question that a true mandatory evacuation of New Orleans in a timely manner would have saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives, and millions of dollars. Then why were the Mayor and the Governor so incompetent that they first delayed the evacuation, then only did it halfway?...
Now let’s look at what happened in New Orleans. Well before the hurricane hit, the President had already declared a state of emergency, paving the way for immediate mobilization of federal aid. This allowed Louisiana access to all federal assistance, military and civil. To my knowledge, this has never been done prior to a natural disaster. But what was clear to the President evidently was not clear to the Mayor and the Governor.
These “leaders” waited precious days to make the decision to evacuate. At one point the Governor declared that she was “going to sleep on it.” She then actually went to sleep while her state had a Category 5 hurricane (the highest category, reserved for the most violent hurricanes) hurtling toward its most populated city. When the Mayor and the Governor finally made up their minds, it was already too late to evacuate many residents. But far more could have been evacuated even then if they had used the resources at their disposal.
The photo...shows hundreds of school buses that were not used in the evacuation. They were allowed to sit parked until days later they were flooded and unusable....In addition, New Orleans had over 500 mass transit buses that could have been used, and buses from long distance and charter bus companies could have been leased or commandeered.
Why were these resources wasted? Why did thousands of people have to walk to the Superdome when hundreds of buses were available just 6,000 feet away? Why, instead of encouraging people to stay in the Superdome, was it not used as a pickup point for the buses to evacuate the people. After all, this was a “mandatory evacuation” ordered by both the Mayor and the Governor.
They had the resources. The media, by using selective videotaping, makes it seem that all the people left in New Orleans were poor people who did not have cars. Granted, New Orleans was a mini welfare state, but...many of the welfare recipients had cars. Many other people with money and cars were too stubborn or foolish to leave. For instance, Fats Domino (hardly a pauper) decided to stay in his home during the hurricane. If all the people with transportation had used it instead of deciding to “ride out the storm”, the buses would have been sufficient to evacuate everyone. Most of the hundreds of buses available could transport 40 to 50 people with normal seating, more if people squeezed together.
So it all came down to leadership, or rather a lack of leadership. The “leaders” who had to make the decision did it too late, and only did it part way. They were more worried about their political careers and how the economy would be hurt if the hurricane did not hit, than they were about the lives of thousands of citizens....
New Orleans' official comprehensive emergency plan very clearly puts the responsibility for an evacuation on the Mayor: "Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the mayor of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life-saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedure as needed.”
On September 11 on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Mayor “Since 2002, the federal government has given New Orleans $18 million to plan and prepare for events like this. How was that money spent?”
Nagin stumbled through his reply: “It's my understanding that most of the money - I've only been in office about three years. So we've mainly used most of the money that we get from the federal government to try and deal with levee protection and the coordination of getting people to safety. That's primarily what we use the money for.”
Russert also said, “Amtrak said they offered to remove people from the city of New Orleans on Saturday night and that the city of New Orleans declined. They said they were moving empty train equipment out of New Orleans in order to protect it and offered to take evacuees with them.” Nagin claimed he never heard of Amtrak’s offer.
The biggest failure of both the Mayor and the Governor was their delay in issuing their mandatory evacuation order. Mayor Ray Nagin received the most dire of warnings in a dinner-time phone call at home from National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield a day and a half before landfall, but he delayed issuing a mandatory evacuation order for 15 hours....
Governor Blanco’s response was just as bad. As noted earlier, she felt the need to “sleep on” the decision to order an evacuation. There were also numerous altercations between the Governor and the Mayor before and after the hurricane about who had what authority. Blanco even stupidly contradicted the Mayor on national television after he talked about a mandatory evacuation, saying, “He doesn’t have that authority; only I do.” Even if that were true, seeing their leaders publicly bickering did little to inspire confidence among the confused and suffering people in Louisiana.
More concerned with politics and her own authority, Blanco refused a federal government proposal to federalize the relief effort on a temporary basis. This would have put all federal, state and local relief personnel under one unified command structure, and eliminated much duplication of effort. She refused this offer of help....Normally, I would oppose any proposal that would weaken a state’s authority, and increase that of the federal government. But in this case, with most of the personnel being federal, it made sense....
For the record, BEFORE the storm FEMA delivered 90,000 liters of water and 43,776 MRE’s (meals Ready To Eat) at the Superdome, a place neither the state of Louisiana nor the city of New Orleans had stocked with food or water. Why not? According to Art Jones, division chief of the disaster recovery division of the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the idea was that the Superdome should be the shelter of last resort, not a place where people would stay....
[T]he politicians in Louisiana are blaming Bush for their own inept handling of the evacuation and relief efforts. The federal government had no authority under our Constitution and federal laws to order any evacuation, and they did not even have the authority to participate in the relief efforts until requested to do so by the states. Even so, the President pre-positioned aid even before the Louisiana Governor finally declared a state of emergency....
More from rantations.com:
Remember the reporters asking why wasn't the Red Cross at the Superdome helping the people there? Well, the Salvation Army and Red Cross were both ready to enter New Orleans and provide assistance. But Governor Blanco refused to let them enter. In fact, Knight Ridder news service is reporting that the National Director of the Red Cross, Marty Evans, made a personal plea to the Governor. Still, she said no....
And what about FEMA? I am not going to defend them. They clearly responded too slowly and when they did they were, in many instances, inefficient, inadequate, and poorly led. As a result, Mr. Brown has resigned and we now have Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen in charge of federal relief efforts. And rightly, so....
Keep in mind that FEMA is not supposed to be a first responder. They respond to disasters and provide assistance to state and local authorities. The presence of FEMA (or lack thereof for that matter) does not release the local and state authorities from their responsibilities. FEMA helps coordinate assistance and provide money and resources, but they are not the be all and end all during a time of crisis.
One of the things FEMA does is to partner with volunteer groups to help provide assistance to victims. Yes, the very same groups that Governor Blanco refused to let help in New Orleans.
Oh, and one other thing. Think back to the Superdome and the 25,000 people that were there. The state and local authorities had no plan to provide them food or water. Yet, only 10 people died there (at least that is the only number I heard reported). If they had no food and water why didn't more people die? With the heat and no air conditioning how did those people survive?
Could it be because 43,776 military meals and 90,000 liters of water were dropped off BEFORE the storm by -- who? You, got it, FEMA....
gimmemolove says:
It's interesting that Bush took the entire rap today. Probably a smart move actually. Everyone needs a scapegoat and it will shut some up. It's all YOURRRR fault. No shit, I already said that. Ummmmm. It leaves no one anywhere to really go with the criticism. Haaa. Now if other people would stop whining and step up to the plate (such as Blanco, Nagin, etc.), I'd really be impressed. But will that happen? No way. We've already seen how these hypocrites operate.
But there's another candidate for the main blame game. Media Lies points to Winds of Change who points to DJ Drummond at Polpundit:
[I]t seems to me that we have finally reached the point where we can start talking about who bears the bulk of the responsibility for this disaster in New Orleans.
Bearing in mind, as always, that we are talking about an unforeseen natural disaster.
Fortunately, there has ben [sic] a great deal of information presented on the timeline and responsibilities. And in reading those documents, I have found a candidate who appears far more culpable than anyone else. Here are some hints:
[] It’s not President Bush
[] It’s not anyone named Clinton
[] It’s not FEMA Director Michael Brown
[] It’s not Louisiana Governor “Quick Decision” Blanco
[] It’s not even Mayor “Calm Under Pressure” Nagin
The last two, especially, have their own responsibilities to be sure, but I found someone whose duties, as specified in the statutes in place when Katrina made landfall, makes their burden the heaviest.
I wonder who else might know the person I mean?
The answer was posted by DJ Drummond at Stolen Thunder:
But when one starts to sift the facts out, one man becomes clearly involved in every major blunder, every key decision involving New Orleans, and one man who had contact with every decision-maker, in many cases the man expected to tell them the conditions, needs, and options. That man did so horrible a job, that in any just universe he will face criminal charges. That man is Major General Bennett C. Landreneau, who is also the head of Louisiana's Department of Homeland Security....
What happens, essentially, is that the Adjutant General of Louisiana's Department of Homeland Security (not to be confused with the U.S. DHS) is responsible for telling the Governor what ia happening and what needs to be done next. The same man is responsible for coordinating state agencies with the parishes which need help, in this case most critically with Mayor Nagin. That same man is also responsible for telling FEMA where the people fleeing the storm are going, and making sure they get the water, food, medicine, and other supplies they need. As we have seen in the actual event, none of those things were done, and they all depended on General Landreneau. It is clear from the evidence, that the man had no idea what he was doing, and lacked the sense to get out of the way until President replaced him with General Honore on Wednesday. The timeline shows that once Landreneau was replaced, the system began to work....
The first words from the General were in an August 29th press conference, where he assured the press that 200 boats were positioned to go in to rescue stranded victims, "as soon as the winds decrease". In the actual fact, far fewer boats weravailablele, and they went out much later.
On that same date, Landreneau downplayed the initial effects of Katrina, as his agency suggested the hurricane had already done its worst. "Officials originally were concerned that hurricane protection levees would be topped, but Katrina's drift to the east apparently kept that from occurring" said an article interviewing the general.
That same article quoted Landreneau as saying "there was a report that there was a breech or overtopping of a levee on the 17th Street Canal, which divides Jefferson and Orleans. Some areas had been flooded, perhaps in the Lakeview section of New Orleans." Landreneau did not understand the importance of his own information.
Confusion was evident sometimes in the very same statement. In one place, "Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, adjutant general for the Louisiana National Guard, said that the number of people taking shelter in the Superdome has risen to around 15,000 to 20,000 as search and rescue teams bring more people to the Superdome from areas hit hard by the flooding."
But the same article noted that Mayor Nagin had declared the Superdome to be a "refuge of last resort, that no food, water, or supplies would be provided. Residents who evacuated to the Superdome were warned to bring their own supplies." In this statement, the Mayor was correct under the plan described by the State, but General Landreneau appeared to be unaware of the terms of the plan, and what this meant to the people there.
This is a worrisome indicator that Landreneau underestimated the danger from Katrina, and directed his force to keep people from entering New Orleans, rather than focusing on getting people out, or making sure the people at shelters had needed supplies. This attitude also explains the reports from Major Garrett that State DHS forces commanded by Landreneau had prevented the Red Cross and Salvation Army from delivering food and water to the Superdome....
Landreneau was mentioned in an August 31 report about a controversy around who would use a new planned airport. Landreneau's reluctance to make a clear decision, as highlighted in the article, indicates an indecision which may have played a role in the disaster response.
A Boston Globe report on August 30 noted that there was a great deal of confusion in the State response, even to the details about numbers of victims and locations of focus. Landreneau appeared to be one of many chiefs, rather than the man in charge.
Although the Shreveport Times reports that Landreneau was keeping Governor Blanco informed of events and needs, it appears that Blanco was not being told about the numbers in shelters without food or water, and was not told about the need to ask for additional National Guard support.
While it seems peculiar that Governor Blanco would not understand that her Declaration of a State of Emergency did not satisfy the conditions under Posse Comitatus necessary for out-of-state forces to assist in forceful restoration of order, it should be noted that General Landreneau never explained the requirement to her; if a State Executives should understand this, certainly her military adjutant in charge of disaster response should suggest the action. But General Landreneau never briefed Governor Blanco on Posse Comitatus, or suggested the request for federal troops in support of the LNG.
On August 30, even as the world at large began to know about the terrible conditions in the Superdome, Landreneau continued to instruct rescuers to move victims there.
"Rescue teams were still picking up people throughout the city Tuesday, leaving them on island-like highway overpasses and on a levee to wait to be moved again. Eventually, they will end up in the Superdome, where 15,000 to 20,000 people have taken already refuge, said Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau."
Mayor Nagin depended on Landreneau to move and feed and protect the citizens of New Orleans. That did not happen. Nagin depended on Landreneau to give people good answers on how to find shelter and food. That did not happen. Governor Blanco depended on Landreneau to keep her informed on the next step to restore order and help the victims. That did not happen. Blanco depended on Landreneau to coordinate with the Red Cross and Salvation Army to get people what they needed. That did not happen. President Bush depended on Landreneau to do his job. That did not happen.
Landreneau should be fired, demoted, then arrested.
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