Ex-FEMA Director Regrets Lack Of Aggressiveness Before Katrina By Tom Gardner, Associated Press Writer - March 8, 2006RENO, Nev. (AP) _ Ex-FEMA Director Michael Brown said Tuesday he regrets not having been even more outspoken in communications with the White House and his superiors as hurricane Katrina roared ashore in August.
"I wish I'd been honest with the American people," Brown said.
"I wish to this day that I had stood up (as the storm hit) Monday and Tuesday and said "This is really bad. It's not working. It's beyond our capabilities. The state has dropped the ball, the locals have dropped the ball. This is going to be ugly," he said.
Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration under the Homeland Security Department, resigned under fire after he was relieved of his command in the hurricane region in September.
He made his latest comments Tuesday after addressing a meeting at a Reno hotel-casino of Harmons Solutions Group, which manages auto and glass claims for the insurance and fleet industries.
Brown said the two FEMA video briefings obtained last week by The Associated Press showed an important part of the confusion that developed in the wake of the hurricane, but only a part.
"For the first time, people were able to see what I was doing. That was one snippet of the president during that one week which ignores all the conversations I was having both before and afterward.
"We talked about evacuations, we talked about levees, we talked about everything. I think the president has gotten somewhat of a bad rap. I also think he was overconfident. He thought that FEMA could pull it out one more time. I hope he's learned now that we couldn't."
The tapes, and particularly the pre-storm Aug. 28 video that includes an appearance by Bush, prompted widespread criticism by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike who said the government should have been better prepared for the storm that flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,300 people.
Brown said everyone made mistakes, including himself, the mayor of New Orleans, the governor of Louisiana and the secretary of Homeland Security.
But while reasserting that FEMA is not designed to be a first responder in emergencies, a duty he said is that of state and local agencies, he added:
"It was not my responsibility. I'm telling you I wish I had done it. I'm a recovering bureaucrat. I can stand up now and say whatever I want to say."
Brown urged the 50 or so people in the room to take the first step in protecting themselves against catastrophes.
"I think it is incumbent on all of us to realize that this is a country under attack," he said.
The attacks could come in the form of a Katrina, a repeat of Sept. 11 or a chemical spill on an interstate, he said. "I don't think we can overcome it. The primary responsibility for safety is yours."
"Disasters don't care about race or religion or demographics or how much money is in the bank. I think we owe it to ourselves to be better prepared. This country owes it to you to be better prepared," he said.
"That way, next time there's a hurricane Katrina, we don't have some guy like Mike Brown in there that everybody makes fun of." |