From ABC News:

In New Orleans, those in peril and those in power have pointed the finger squarely at the federal government for the delayed relief effort.

But experts say when natural disasters strike, it is the primary responsibility of state and local governments — not the federal government — to respond.

New Orleans’ own comprehensive emergency plan raises the specter of “having large numbers of people … stranded” and promises “the city … will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas.”

“Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves,” the plan states.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, however, that plan was not followed completely.

Instead of sending city buses to evacuate those who could not make it out on their own, people in New Orleans were told to go to the Superdome and the Convention Center, where no one provided sufficient sustenance or security.

‘Lives Would Have Been Saved’

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said “80 percent” of the city was evacuated before the storm hit, but Bob Williams says that’s not good enough.

Williams dealt with emergency response issues as a state representative in Washington when his district was forced to deal with the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

“If the plan were implemented, lives would have been saved,” Williams said.

There’s no question the federal government plays a major role in disaster relief. But federal officials say in order to get involved, they must first be asked to do so by state officials.

Then there are these further considerations, from my comments:

A quick reality-bite:

1 – “Brown waited five hours before…”

fwiw, five hours after Katrina made landfall, there were still four or five hours before Katrina’s winds subsided to the point over New Orleans where you could move trucks and other equipment within the city.

The storm was 400 miles wide.  Katrina was moving at 10-15 miles per hour.  Five hours after landfall.  Using nothing other than basic math, I can deduce that the 400 mile wide Katrina had only gone 50-75 miles inland.  Even taking into account that landfall is based on the eye wall reaching land, that left 200 miles worth of storm with which to contend.

Also, the path Katrina took prevented land-based help from reaching New Orleans until after the hurricane cleared out of their approaches.  So the clock for aid reaching New Orleans ought to begin once Katrina cleared out far enough so that it was safe for trucks to eave from, say, Baton Rouge.

And, as regards FEMA:

FEMA is and has been a relatively small agency, primarily responsible for training and organization.  At actual incidents, they interact with other local/state/fed/private agencies and assist with the overall organization of events.

90% of what FEMA does is planning and training.  It is hoped that the training and planning can be deployed by agencies involved in a crisis situation.  This hope was partially unrealized by agencies and individuals at all levels.

From FEMA’s website:

Goal 1. Reduce loss of life and property

Goal 2. Minimize suffering and disruption caused by disasters.

Goal 3. Prepare the Nation to address the consequences of terrorism.

Goal 4. Serve as the Nation’s portal for emergency management information and expertise.

Goal 5. Create a motivating and challenging work environment for employees.

Goal 6. Make FEMA a world-class enterprise.

Note the goal words.  Reduce (not eliminate or prevent).  Minimize.  Prepare.  The only word that implies immediacy is serve, in communications.

FEMA and the feds implemented their part of the plan, working on the assumption that the first 72 hours were being handled locally.  That didn’t happen, and the unanticipated backlog of duties overwhelmed FEMA’s initial response (a crude analogy – they expected to join the play at act III (evacuation completed, S&R mostly complete, mitigation underway), when in fact act I was still not done.

And

The Agency therefore relies on strong partnerships to successfully carry out its mission. FEMA works with a variety of partners, including Federal agencies, States, Territories, Tribal Nations, local governments, first responders, voluntary organizations, business, industry, and individuals. While the Agency’s mission is squarely focused on protecting and preparing the Nation as a whole, primary responsibility for disaster response rests with State and local authorities. This means FEMA does not respond to all disasters that occur in the United States. Instead, when State and local capacity to respond is threatened or overwhelmed, a Governor may ask the President for Federal assistance.

A Presidential disaster declaration directs FEMA to provide and coordinate a variety of assistance and support. FEMA’s primary mechanism for doing this is the Federal Response Plan. It provides a process and structure for the systematic, coordinated, and effective delivery of Federal assistance to address any major disaster, regardless of type or cause. Through the Federal Response Plan, FEMA marshals the resources and expertise of its many partners, including Federal agencies and numerous voluntary organizations, and coordinates the overall effort with the States and communities affected by the disaster.

Emphasis mine.  From FEMA’s 2003-2008 Strategic Plan.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi, Pat Leahy, and even Joe Lieberman are stepping up pressure to scapegoat Michael Brown.  Here’s Lieberman:

“There is another America that is left behind, and um, and you can call for a mandatory evacuation but if thousands of people don’t have the means to evacuate, then government has to be able to provide them with that and clearly government didn’t, so those are random…that’s probably more than I should have said that just jump out at all of us, and we want to get under them and find out how it happened and make sure it never happens again.

Moments ago on FOX, Naomi Wolf, whose credibility as a spokesperson for anything continues to boggle, parroted the Dem talking points—embroidering them a bit to bump up the racial angle (had it been White middle class people stranded, the feds would have gotten their quicker—a silly assertion that called to mind a bit from My Cousin Vinny, where Vinny asks a witness whose depends on his ability to cook 20-minute grits in 5 minutes if “the laws of physics cease to operate in your kitchen?”) and to exascerbate Bush’s responsibility.  “It’s sad,” she said, “that the President waited for an invitation to the biggest dance this country has ever seen” (paraphrased). Then, after trotting out the standard “vacation” theme, Ms Wolf attempted to hammer home her point by citing as precedent Harrison Ford’s actions in Air Force One, where he was “completely in charge and, in an emergency, recovening staff” (paraphrased)

Ward Connerly’s wonderful response:  “If horse manure were music, that would be a symphony.”

Wolf—like O’Reilly last evening—hasn’t bothered to learn the law or applicable statutes.  Instead, she claims (against all previous statements to the contrary) that she wants to give Bush more power, power in excess of the power granted him by the Constitution.

Right.

Compare Wolf and the Democrat’s framing of events with those from the DoD yesterday.  Here’s Gen Richard Meyers:

Let me give you an overview of what military forces are doing in support of the federal response.

There are six military installations that are serving as FEMA staging areas for equipment and relief supply.  More than 58,000 active duty and National Guard personnel are on the ground and in the area.  More than 41,000 of that 58,000 are members of the National Guard from all 50 states and are working, of course, hurricane relief operations.  Approximately 17,000 active duty personnel are on the ground in the region providing support from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, the 1st Calvary Division, and afloat.  And of the 17,000—of those afloat forces, nearly 7,000 are Navy personnel providing support from 21 naval ships off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.  More than 350 Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, and National Guard helicopters—350 helicopters, and more than 75 DoD and National Guard fixed-wing aircraft are assisting in the effort.  Nearly 1,800 search and rescue, evacuation, and supply delivery missions have been flown by the Department of Defense, with more than 799 in the past 24 hours.  Over 13,000 people have been rescued, and thousands of tons of relief supplies have been moved.  More than 75,000 people have been evacuated so far.  Maritime units have supplied 78,000 gallons of fuel to hospitals, law enforcement, National Guard and other critical government services.  And more than 9 million meals ready to eat have been delivered to FEMA.  And of course the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is performing un-watering operations in New Orleans. 

Two C-130 firefighting aircraft were deployed to support the New Orleans firefighting operations, and seven helicopters are there conducting firefighting operations as well. 

Military forces are providing essential medical services as well. In New Orleans alone, the DoD has transported more than 10,000 patients and treated more than 5,000 patients. 

And, of course, there are 4,000 Coast Guard personnel that are also providing support. 

As the secretary mentioned, many of the state and local first responders and their resources fell victim to the hurricane, and of course they’re going to need help in regenerating their capability and capacity.

So to recap, there are more than 41,00 National Guard and 17,000 active-duty troops currently in the region supporting the states, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security by performing humanitarian missions such as search and rescue; evacuations; airlift of critical supplies, such as food, water and clothing; helping with communications; assisting in clearing roads of debris; airfield support operations; medical, fuel and water support; providing security; assisting in firefighting support; and assisting in recovery and reconstruction planning.

And finally, I’d just like to say a word about the men and women in uniform that are assisting in this endeavor.  As we saw Sunday, every American should be proud of our troops, whether they’re active-duty or Reserve component, National Guard or Reserve, that are in there doing their job.  They all have one thing in mind, and that is helping their fellow Americans deal with this huge tragedy.  And they’re doing it in a way and with the same professionalism that they always conduct themselves, and we should all be very proud.

Meanwhile, some confusion still remains about when, exactly, the President beseeched Governor Blanco to turn over control to the Feds.  The confusion stems from juxtaposing Nagin’s press conference statements with the unclear WaPo account.  Dr. Sanity’s sources are telling him Bush asked on Friday Aug 26; Nagin seems to suggest Friday, Sept 2 as the date.

I’m going to attempt to contact the authors of the WaPo piece to get a firmer grip on the actual date.

Developing still, I guess…

****

update:  Jesus.

(h/t Claude the Peace Rebel)