Bush resists immediate probe into Katrina response

[dcentity2000]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush pledged on Tuesday to review what went wrong in the initial response to Hurricane Katrina but resisted any immediate probe and lawmakers launched an investigation of their own.

Partisan tempers flared, the projected cost of Katrina recovery efforts mushroomed and Pentagon leaders denied there was any delay in the military response to the relief effort last week.

After a Cabinet meeting on the myriad challenges posed by his biggest crisis since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Bush said he would lead an investigation into what went wrong. But he said he first wanted to save lives and solve problems before assessing blame.

"I think one of the things that people want us to do is to play a blame game," Bush said of critics of the initial administration response. "We've got to solve problems. There will be ample time for people to figure out what went right, and what went wrong."

He added: "I'm going to find out over time what went right and what went wrong."

Key senators launched an oversight review to determine how federal, state and local authorities bungled the relief effort in the first days after the hurricane struck.

"It is difficult to understand the lack of preparedness and the ineffective initial response to a disaster that had been predicted for years and for which specific dire warnings had been given for days," said Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who chairs the Senate homeland security committee.

Tempers flared in the driveway of the White House after congressional leaders emerged from a meeting with Bush to brief reporters.

House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, backing up Bush's position, agreed on the need for an investigation, but only after the recovery is well under way.

"There's going to be a lot of time to point fingers after we get through there," he said.

Source and full story: Reuters



Rich::

 

[totalia]

*shakes her head* of course he's resisting. He's hoping everyone will forget or dismiss it. Like they have everything he's done in the past.

 

[Charade]

*shakes her head* of course he's resisting. He's hoping everyone will forget or dismiss it. Like they have everything he's done in the past.

Probably.

 

[shelby_36]

Now why post it that way?

Not Bush launches a probe.
But Bush launches a probe AFTER saving lives.

What a dirtbag. Geez

Will the dems ever be happy?

 

[totalia]

Bush hasn't saved any lives. Thousands of dead. What lives has he saved? He took days to arrive. Yes, the democrats are just horrible because they won't just shrug off the incompetance Bush showed while people were dying.

How horrible for them to demand an accounting of why he was eating birthday cake instead of helping his own countrymen. How deplorable to demand an accounting of why it took so many days to respond when the gvt had days of notice. How horrible to demand to know where all the billions of dollars have been spent if the organization called Homeland Security he created is so incompetant that it takes many days after a disaster that happened directly to his own people in his own country, for them to respond. How disgusting for them to ask why

Yes, thats just horrible isn't it? To hold the President responsible for his own actions and the actions of the men he appointed to positions within the gvt that should have bee able to handle their positions or not been given them.

To demand that the President be responsible. Just... horrible.

 

[shelby_36]

He is trying to make sure that the rescue effort continues. There was a delay in help arriving and that is what the probe is for! He does not want to now have to spend these days when there may still be people needing help waiting for help to arrive. The hurricane killed thousands of people BUSH did not. The slow response did cause some additional deaths but we won't know until the probe is complete that blame belongs to George Bush.

But there is no reason to cut down Bush because he wants a probe by sayng he wants the probe later than WE wanted it. Just grasping at straws again.

 

[totalia]

What exactly do you think he's doing right now? I very seriously doubt he's down among the people handing out water and food.

 

[shelby_36]

What is it the dems want? Did they want him to stand in the Gulf with his hands in front of him sheilding the coast???? Good grief. I truly think some people wouldn't be happy unless he did that.

 

[totalia]

First, I'm not Democrat. I'm not American. I'm a Canadian Liberal with an America fiance who lived in Jefferson Parish at the time the hurricane hit.

Second, not at all. I expected that he wouldn't be eating cake and playing guitar while poisoness flood waters swamped the streets of New Orleans and people were dying of hunger, thirst, and disease. I expected that the help wouldn't take 4 days to arrive. I expected that he would appoint competant people to positions within his gvt with the full knowledge that only someone who actually knows how to do what they were hired for could possibly actually do the job (like the head of FEMA). I expected that he would actually be waiting and willing to respond in a timely manner to the formal written requests in advance of the Governor of Louisiana. I expected that he would be the responsible President he is supposed to be.

That is what I expect. What I did expect. He has done none of those things.

 

[shelby_36]

Just for your info- This is what he did today publicly- I'm sure he did some more stuff..they didn't mention his potty breaks:
From Whitehouse.gov
Met with Secretary of Education Spellings and her team about the -- about the school children who have been displaced because of Hurricane Katrina.

President Meets with Representatives from National Voluntary Organizations

President Meets with Cabinet

He isalso getting prepared to nominate a Supreme Court Judge and also name a Supreme Court Chief Justice.

He is preparing for Reinquists funeral.

He is dealing with the war in Iraq and the fighting in Afghanistan.

Don't forget he visited 3 states yesterday surveying damage.

That more than I've been able to get accomplished in 2 days...what about you?

 

[shelby_36]

He declared a state of emergency before the storm even hit. He had to wait from there for the Gov to request help. As soon as he did the National guard went in. From what I heard today there were assistance teams in the area but they couldn't go in tilol FEMA told them to. To my untrained eye it looks like there was a huge contol /power issue here between FEMA and the Governor. Where does Bush come in there?

 

[mickey2000]

He declared a state of emergency before the storm even hit. He had to wait from there for the Gov to request help. As soon as he did the National guard went in. From what I heard today there were assistance teams in the area but they couldn't go in tilol FEMA told them to. To my untrained eye it looks like there was a huge contol /power issue here between FEMA and the Governor. Where does Bush come in there?

Who are you trying to convince ???? Do you really believe all of what you are saying???? The leader of our country with all his help should have pressed the issue during time of an emergency!! I fell off a 60 ft ladder today !!! I was on the first step

 

[totalia]

Let's see... he had to meet with the national voluntary organizations because he's trying to save his reputation. He had to meet with the education minister because people are very angry with him and if he continues to show the same incompetance as he did in the beginning, there will be an uproar the likes of which he has never seen.

Preparing for the funeral of a dead person for which he has other people to do that.

The crisis of the gulf coast far outweighs some dead persons funeral. Sorry but it does. National crisis... hmm... or a dead persons funeral... national crisis or a dead persons funeral...

National crisis is far more important.

As for Iraq, Iraq is part of the problem. Dealing with it. Dealing with it how? Diverting yet more cash to bringing democracy to a nation of people that don't want it when his own country is in much more dire need of attention?

Seems like his priorities are a little messed up. Your own people first. Screw everything else.

And surveying is not helping. Its a PR stunt.

 

[WDWBetsy]

What is it the dems want? Did they want him to stand in the Gulf with his hands in front of him sheilding the coast???? Good grief. I truly think some people wouldn't be happy unless he did that.

Well, as a Democrat AND a US citizen, I want:

1) our President to appoint people who know what they're doing,
2) appointed officials (ie Michael Brown) to get the ball rolling immediately when a disaster is declared - not five hours after a hurricane hits,
3) FEMA to not turn down local/regional/national help when offered (ie not turning away truckloads of water or doctors/nurses offering their help), and to ask for help immediately so hospitals are not waiting to send helicopters to bring back patients to empty beds dedicated for such emergencies,
4) a president who holds his staff accountable. That means if they screw up royally (or repeatedly) they are fired - not promoted, and
5) agencies revamped if they're failing (FEMA needs to be its own agency, with a cabinet level offical answering directly to the President)

AND I want local and state officials to have working emergency/evacuation plans that do not forget the poor, elderly, etc.


That's what I want. I don't think that's asking much.

 

[totalia]

He declared a state of emergency before the storm even hit. He had to wait from there for the Gov to request help. As soon as he did the National guard went in. From what I heard today there were assistance teams in the area but they couldn't go in tilol FEMA told them to. To my untrained eye it looks like there was a huge contol /power issue here between FEMA and the Governor. Where does Bush come in there?

*groans* I don't think you've been reading the boards have you?

There are official gvt documents that are in .pdf format on these boards that shows the Governor requested that help WITH specifics, DAYS before the hurricane hit.

Do you even know what your talking about?

 

[shelby_36]

Ok so he doesn't go and hes a cad, he does go and he's a photo op. He goes on vacation and he is ignoring his duties, he does his duties and he;s got his priorities wrong. There is a storm nearing Florida. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take your team and call DC and tell Bush what is the proper thing to do NOW instead of waiting and telling him what is acceptable after the fact.

 

[shelby_36]

Well, as a Democrat AND a US citizen, I want:

1) our President to appoint people who know what they're doing,
2) appointed officials (ie Michael Brown) to get the ball rolling immediately when a disaster is declared - not five hours after a hurricane hits,
3) FEMA to not turn down local/regional/national help when offered (ie not turning away truckloads of water or doctors/nurses offering their help), and to ask for help immediately so hospitals are not waiting to send helicopters to bring back patients to empty beds dedicated for such emergencies,
4) a president who holds his staff accountable. That means if they screw up royally (or repeatedly) they are fired - not promoted, and
5) agencies revamped if they're failing (FEMA needs to be its own agency, with a cabinet level offical answering directly to the President)


That's what I want. I don't think that's asking much.

UUmmm That';s what the probe is for. OBVIOUSLY someone screwed up. And your are right that person/persons needs to be fired. But lets save lives in NO and worry about blame later.

 

[shelby_36]

*groans* I don't think you've been reading the boards have you?

There are official gvt documents that are in .pdf format on these boards that shows the Governor requested that help WITH specifics, DAYS before the hurricane hit.

Do you even know what your talking about?

I guess not. I did not see these documents. Do you have a link?

 

[totalia]

Do you really think the President should be so brainless that he can't figure it out for himself that allowing his own people to die on a rooftop for 4 days is NOT acceptable?

If he can't get that AHEAD OF TIME then he shouldn't be in office.

 

[totalia]

Do a search for posts by peachgirl . She's the one who found the document on a gvt web site.