Documents released today by Congress show that two days before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the White House received detailed damage forecasts from Homeland Security officials predicting that the city’s levees might be overtopped or breached.
Yet in the days after the storm struck on Aug. 29, federal officials, including President Bush, said the levee breaches could not have been foreseen.
Embattled former FEMA Director Michael Brown said, “I think we were all taken aback by the fact that the levees did break in so many places and caused such widespread devastation.”
Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff said, “I will tell you that really that perfect storm of combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners and maybe anybody’s foresight.”
And on Sept. 1, President Bush told “Good Morning America”: ‘’I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees” that flooded New Orleans.
The documents provided today by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, however, showed that the federal agencies overseen by Brown and Chertoff had compiled damage forecasts for the White House at least 48 hours before the storm’s landfall that predicted levee overtopping and breaches.
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On Aug. 27, two days before the storm made landfall, FEMA had prepared a slide presentation for White House officials. The FEMA slides said a Category 4 storm surge “could greatly overtop levees and protective systems.” It’s unclear who at the White House received this briefing or how its contents were distributed afterward.
AND OUR “ELECTED” OFFICIALS DID NOTHING!
It’s called Criminal Negligence.
Did they see the slideshow? Why did they do nothing?
Did they not even watch the presentation? Why not?
Either Way- They didn’t do anything to prepare for the storm, and they left thousands of Americans stranded with no food and water for a week after the storm…
Despite this Major Warning, Bush Stayed on F@%king Vacation!!!
In a sane country, the above information would be enough to throw Bush and Co out of the WhiteHouse immediately.
Now there is an investigation, and the WhiteHouse has ordered FEMA witnesses to refuse to answer “almost every question” about the Katrina (lack of) response… and this according to Republican Senator Joe Lieberman [2].
And check out the ‘coincidences’ that parallel 9/11:
Hello…..People of America… How much is too much?
At what point do we STOP BUSINESS AS USUAL?