The US Government vs. Reality.

[gridlore]

Great article from CNN.com, with links to the videos.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/katrina.response/index.html

Diverging views of a crumbling New Orleans emerged Thursday, with statements by some federal officials in contradiction with grittier, more desperate views from the streets. By late Friday response to those stranded in the city was more visible.

But the conflicting views on Thursday came within hours, sometimes minutes of each of each other, as reflected in CNN's transcripts. The speakers include Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, evacuee Raymond Cooper, CNN correspondents and others. Here's what they had to say:

Conditions in the Convention Center

FEMA chief Brown: We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need. (See video of Brown explaining how news reports alerted FEMA to convention center chaos. -- 2:11)

Mayor Nagin: The convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we are running out of supplies for the 15,000 to 20,000 people. (Hear Nagin's angry demand for soldiers. 1:04)

CNN Producer Kim Segal: It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children, you should see them, they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw... people who are dying in front of you.

Evacuee Raymond Cooper: Sir, you've got about 3,000 people here in this -- in the Convention Center right now. They're hungry. Don't have any food. We were told two-and-a-half days ago to make our way to the Superdome or the Convention Center by our mayor. And which when we got here, was no one to tell us what to do, no one to direct us, no authority figure.

Go watch the video clips. Thenask yourself why it took FEMA two extra days to figure out there were people at the Convention Center.

Comments

And today

[capplor.livejournal.com]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.chertoff/index.html

I'm in a rush, so if this isn't automatically linked just cut & paste.

Basically, the head of homeland security is NOW saying "Nobody predicted this"and the article gives chapeter & verse on how MANY predictions, going back years, said "IF a cat 4-5 hurricane hits, New Orleans is screwed"

Being from hurricane country, I found the comment about "we didn't know it was REALLY going to hit" absurd. Part of planning for a hurricane is knowing that two days notice is about the maximum for the EXACT storm path, so any fool in the region knows you're always ready to implement with about a day's notice.