But inexperience in FEMA's top ranks is emerging as a key concern of local, state and federal leaders as investigators begin to sift through what the government has admitted was a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.
I keep hearing this claim but no specifics. What exactly has the government (i.e. feds) admitted was done wrong? At this point, the NO mayor and LA governor have lost credibility and appear to be covering up their incompetence. I'm not saying FEMA hasn't made mistakes but I'd like to hear what mistakes they admit to.
Quote:
Touring the wrecked Gulf Coast with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff yesterday, Vice President Cheney also defended FEMA leaders, saying, "We're always trying to strike the right balance" between political appointees and "career professionals that fill the jobs underneath them."
I think appointing people who don't have the knowledge or ability to do a job is a mistake.
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Does anyone realize that FEMA was never meant to be an operational agency? It's role is and always has been to help local and state governments deal with disasters, primarily assisting with aid and dealing with federal bureaucracy to expedite aid. The Homeland Security Act threw billions of dollars to local and state governments so they could be first responders to terrorist acts and natural disasters. In fact, they are one of the few federal agencies that actually require a a disaster plan from a city or state before they receive funding.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 statesclearly: [blockquote] "The Federal Government recognizes the roles and responsibilities of State and local authorities in domestic incident management. Initial responsibility for managing domestic incidents generally falls on State and local authorities. The Federal Government will assist State and local authorities when their resources are overwhelmed, or when Federal interests are involved."
[/blockquote] New Orleans has received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid since 9/11 as a result of Homeland Security funding. Mayor Nagin totally failed to implement the evacutation plan NO filed with the Office of Domestic Preparedness. They received $140 million in federal money to see that this plan was operational. But in the end the Mayor never evacuated so much as a van load of citizens.
NO had the money from the feds, they had a disaster plan on file, they had the buses, policemen and national guard to implement their plan, yet for some reason did nothing. The first line of responsibility was clearly here.
It's partisan tripe to attack one person as the reason for the deficiencies in the response to Katrina. We ought to take a look at the process and method of funding to see that all the other major cities who recieved billions of dollars so they can be first responders to disasters don't respond like NO.
It's popular to bash the feds, but in the end they usually have to come in and bail out municpalities and states that face a major problem of any kind. I supect one of the things that will come to be as Katrina's efforts are reviewed is a plan to give the Feds more authority and involve them sooner in large disasters.
I probably should point out that FEMA responded to 4 or 5 hurricanes last season with little criticism, apparently doing a decent job. That doesn't count as experience for Brown? With 3 hurricanes qued up off the east coast, Mike Brown needs to be back at his post in Washington. I think it's a little early to read that he is being kicked upstairs.
This nation has never experienced a natural or man-made disaster as severe as Katrina. To expect it to be dealt with in 24 hours is totally unrealistic.
But you guys might be right. Maybe W ought to fire Mike Brown and appoint Nancy Pelosi in his place.
wow, i might be defending the pres here, but i'm going in...
the appointees need not have disaster response expereience to run the organization well. what they have to have is good ADMINISTRATIVE experience and enough intelligence to learn the operation. some of the best people i've ever worked for or with had no prior experience in a field they were thrown into. all knew how to oragnize, draw upon subordinates' strengths, and learn.
if, on the other hands, they were just political hacks...[]
You don't need to be an expert in dissaster assistance to be a leader of an organization. At the top, it is mostly delegation and administration. However, I somehow doubt that being commissioner of a horse association requires great delegation and administration capabilities. Yet Brown was essentially fired from that job as well. This was a good old boy gettin a job.
But you guys might be right. Maybe W ought to fire Mike Brown and appoint Nancy Pelosi in his place.
You're right. Maybe he should. It's not like she has any LESS experience in the field than Brown did, and hey! after the job "Brownie" has done, the only way to go is up
I somehow doubt that being commissioner of a horse association requires great delegation and administration capabilities. Yet Brown was essentially fired from that job as well. This was a good old boy gettin a job.
FEMA leaders lack disaster experience
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