Ex-FEMA director defends Katrina response

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Brown admitted making mistakes during the storm and subsequent flooding that devastated large swaths of the Gulf Coast. But he accused New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, both Democrats, of fostering chaos by failing to order a mandatory evacuation more than a day before Katrina hit.

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," Brown told a special panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe which killed more than 1,000 people across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

"I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together. I just couldn't pull that off."

And

"I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it," he said.

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I also heard him saying on the News Hour earlier this evening that the reason FEMA brought in so little ice is because the Federal Government shouldn't be in the "ice business." Brown's testimony today was nothing short of jaw-dropping. I'm reminded of former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's claim before Congress that he did nothing wrong: despite FEMA's dismal failures parading for weeks in the press for the whole world to see, Brown thinks he did just fine. If he wasn't perjuring himself today, he's insane.

I could refute Brown's blame-shifting in detail if I was up for it, but why do that when David Neiwert over at Orcinus has already done it much better and more concisely than I could ever hope to do? Check it out:

Here's what FEMA does do, though: It provides emergency food and water. It coordinates emergency personnel, including rescue and medical workers. It oversees, coordinates, and helps facilitate such efforts as evacuation and communication when the disaster is a regional one.

Brown is trying to paint a picture of FEMA as a minor role player in disaster relief. The reality is that when a federal disaster is declared, FEMA takes charge of the scene, and every other agency defers to its directives and initiatives. But FEMA didn't show up in New Orleans until three days later. Why was that?

When Brown can answer that question, we may start getting a clearer picture of what happened in New Orleans.

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In other words, even if what he says about Nagin and Blanco is true, which it isn't, it doesn't matter. It's FEMA's job to smooth all that out, and they didn't show up until it was far too late. Brown's assertion of innocence is yet another amazing event in this era already saturated with amazing events. I'm pretty grossed out, actually.

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