This timeline-based article in the Washington Post is by far the best journalistic piece on the story of what happened in the disaster so far. It misses a few things but it also adds a great numbe of details never printed anywhere else. It’s absolutely essential reading. Just a few examples:
FEMA blocked Amtrak repeatedly from sending in trains
FEMA stopped flights that airlines had already been flying to the New Orleans airport, where hospital patients desperately needed evacuation
On Monday, Blanco had told Bush “I need everything you’ve got.” He responded by claiming suddenly on Wednesday that she had never asked for help until 7:21 that morning, 48 hours after the hurricane hit New Orleans.
The LA Times has their own very lengthy survey, as does the New York Times (almost totally worthless article). The LA Times story has its own list of screwups, including:
More than 50 civilian aircraft responding to separate requests for evacuations from hospitals and other agencies swarmed to the area a day after Katrina hit, but FEMA blocked their efforts. Aircraft operators complained that FEMA waved off a number of evacuation attempts, saying the rescuers were not authorized. “Many planes and helicopters simply sat idle,” said Thomas Judge, president of the Assn. of Air Medical Services.
Military cooperation was stymied. In advance of the storm, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered the governor of Louisiana hundreds of National Guard troops. They were poised to fly into Louisiana on Monday, Aug. 29, just as the levees were about to give way. Instead, red tape and paperwork at National Guard headquarters in Washington delayed their arrival until Friday. Deployment orders had not been not properly filled out, the New Mexico National Guard was told.
Newsweek has an inside-the-White-House story whose title, “How Bush Blew It,” says it all:
The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One.
Leave a Reply