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The Smoking Gun: Navy Ship sits unused awaiting Bush's orders, while Bush ate cake
After the Hurricane struck, Bush did NOTHING to mitigate the disaster, instead he continued on his scheduled photo ops- yucking it up with Seniors, eating cake with John McCain, and playing guitar for the cameras.
Meanwhile, a US Navy ship with amphibious landing vehicles, hopsital facilities with 600 beds, 9 million meals (MREs) and the capacity to make 100,000 gallons of water per day- sat unused for a week- awaiting Bush's orders.
In this BBC interview with Lt. Commander Sean Kelly says they could not act alone, they were waiting for Bush. Thousands died because Bush did nothing.
Meanwhile, a US Navy ship with amphibious landing vehicles, hopsital facilities with 600 beds, 9 million meals (MREs) and the capacity to make 100,000 gallons of water per day- sat unused for a week- awaiting Bush's orders.
In this BBC interview with Lt. Commander Sean Kelly says they could not act alone, they were waiting for Bush. Thousands died because Bush did nothing.
From the BBC interview (attached video), Lt. Commander Sean Kelly: "We had the USS Baton sailing almost behind the hurricane so that after the hurricane made landfall it’s search and rescue helicopters would be available almost immediately. So we had things ready. The only caveat is, we have to wait until the President authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can’t just act in this fashion, we have to wait for the President to give us permission."
This Knight Ridder news story has details on this navy ship, still completely UNUSED a week after
Katrina struck.
Published Sat. Sept 3rd, 2005
The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch U.S. Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It can also make its own water - up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore.
The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents.
But today the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty. A good share of its 1,200 sailors could also go ashore to help with the relief effort, but they haven't been asked. The Bataan has been in the stricken region the longest of any military unit, but federal authorities have yet to fully utilize the ship.
"Could we do more?" said Capt. Nora Tyson, commander of the Bataan. "Sure. I've got sailors who could be on the beach plucking through garbage or distributing water and food and stuff. But I can't force myself on people.
"We're doing everything we can to contribute right now, and we're ready. If someone says you need to take on people, we're ready. If they say hospitals on the beach can't handle it ... if they need to send the overflow out here, we're ready. We've got lots of room."
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/12554907.htm
Bush's actions immediately after Katrina struck (incl photos):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/31/163230/12
---------
note: This is should be the final nail in the coffin for Bush- but as usual the media will try to bury it. The spin on this may be: 'we need to remove that red tape and let the military act on their own, without orders.' This would be a step further towards the police state- allowing the armed forces to act on their own... ie- lets give the brownshirts freedom to do as they choose.
The problem was not the red tape- the problem was Bush's lack of leadership. Why did he continue with those photo ops? why didn't he or anyone else in command order this ship into action?
This Knight Ridder news story has details on this navy ship, still completely UNUSED a week after
Katrina struck.
Published Sat. Sept 3rd, 2005
The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch U.S. Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It can also make its own water - up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore.
The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents.
But today the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty. A good share of its 1,200 sailors could also go ashore to help with the relief effort, but they haven't been asked. The Bataan has been in the stricken region the longest of any military unit, but federal authorities have yet to fully utilize the ship.
"Could we do more?" said Capt. Nora Tyson, commander of the Bataan. "Sure. I've got sailors who could be on the beach plucking through garbage or distributing water and food and stuff. But I can't force myself on people.
"We're doing everything we can to contribute right now, and we're ready. If someone says you need to take on people, we're ready. If they say hospitals on the beach can't handle it ... if they need to send the overflow out here, we're ready. We've got lots of room."
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/12554907.htm
Bush's actions immediately after Katrina struck (incl photos):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/31/163230/12
---------
note: This is should be the final nail in the coffin for Bush- but as usual the media will try to bury it. The spin on this may be: 'we need to remove that red tape and let the military act on their own, without orders.' This would be a step further towards the police state- allowing the armed forces to act on their own... ie- lets give the brownshirts freedom to do as they choose.
The problem was not the red tape- the problem was Bush's lack of leadership. Why did he continue with those photo ops? why didn't he or anyone else in command order this ship into action?
For more information:
http://benfrank.net/blog
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FEMA Chief Waited Until After Storm Hit
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
(09-06) 17:10 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.
Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.
Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.
Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."
The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.
Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.
"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."
Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."
"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.
Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.
Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.
The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.
___
On the Net:
FEMA:
Homeland Security Department:
http://www.fema.gov
http://www.dhs.gov
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/06/national/w163311D97.DTL
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
(09-06) 17:10 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.
Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.
Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.
Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."
The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.
Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.
"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."
Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."
"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.
Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.
Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.
The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.
___
On the Net:
FEMA:
Homeland Security Department:
http://www.fema.gov
http://www.dhs.gov
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/06/national/w163311D97.DTL
The reason for all the delays is genocide. It is very clear that the ruling capitalist class has no intention of providing decent paying jobs to the workingclass, much less education or anything else, and has opted for same program Hitler opted for, at the behest of the same world capitalist class: extermination of the workingclass, which in the US, means genocide of the African-American community. This country was built on the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of Africans, and the vicious exploitation of all the rest of us, so this should be no surprise.
Thus, they used this hurricane to attempt to carry out their genocidal program, which is what all budget cuts for our needs is by definition. Capitalism is a dying social order which only has a future of barbarism, and we certainly saw that in New Orleans this past week. Just the idea of forcing people to sit in 100 degree sun on the hot pavement for 4 or 5 days without food or water, waiting for buses that never came until the whole world expressed its outrage is certainly barbaric.
Of course, this time Bush & his fascist gang destroyed a major US city, not a poor Arab country that is sitting on oil like Iraq. And, this major city was located in the area of his political base, the old Confederacy. It is not just the very poor who were kicked out of New Orleans, it was also those who had a house and car, but certainly cannot live in a hotel for more than a week or so, much less probably a year, and run their businesses elsewhere with any thought of returning. For example, one according to USA Today of 9/6/05, one law firm bought 10 homes in Baton Rouge unseen. Obviously, it was the attorneys at that law firm who made that purchase. These are the regular voters and regular contributors to political campaigns of Democrats and Republicans. Bush has disrupted a major seaport and center of business in this country and endangered the lives of everyone in the City with his cuts in levee repair. After reading the capitalist press of 9/4/05, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, specifically their editorial, I would say the chickens have come home to roost and Bush & his gang are in serious trouble. It is at :
http://www.nola.com/weblogs/print.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/print076771.html
The middle class lawyers cannot put an end to this banrupt system that allowed for this nightmare; only the workingclass can do that with a serious labor movement.
Thus, they used this hurricane to attempt to carry out their genocidal program, which is what all budget cuts for our needs is by definition. Capitalism is a dying social order which only has a future of barbarism, and we certainly saw that in New Orleans this past week. Just the idea of forcing people to sit in 100 degree sun on the hot pavement for 4 or 5 days without food or water, waiting for buses that never came until the whole world expressed its outrage is certainly barbaric.
Of course, this time Bush & his fascist gang destroyed a major US city, not a poor Arab country that is sitting on oil like Iraq. And, this major city was located in the area of his political base, the old Confederacy. It is not just the very poor who were kicked out of New Orleans, it was also those who had a house and car, but certainly cannot live in a hotel for more than a week or so, much less probably a year, and run their businesses elsewhere with any thought of returning. For example, one according to USA Today of 9/6/05, one law firm bought 10 homes in Baton Rouge unseen. Obviously, it was the attorneys at that law firm who made that purchase. These are the regular voters and regular contributors to political campaigns of Democrats and Republicans. Bush has disrupted a major seaport and center of business in this country and endangered the lives of everyone in the City with his cuts in levee repair. After reading the capitalist press of 9/4/05, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, specifically their editorial, I would say the chickens have come home to roost and Bush & his gang are in serious trouble. It is at :
http://www.nola.com/weblogs/print.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/print076771.html
The middle class lawyers cannot put an end to this banrupt system that allowed for this nightmare; only the workingclass can do that with a serious labor movement.
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