GQ report blames Rumsfeld for military delay after Katrina

[sabra]

Source: The Times-Picayune

A report on the GQ magazine Web site is quoting unnamed former Bush administration official as blaming former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for many failures, including a delay in military assistance in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The report says "in speaking with the former Bush officials, it becomes evident that Rumsfeld impaired administration performance on a host of matters extending well beyond Iraq to impact America's relations with other nations, the safety of our troops, and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

The Washington Monthly highlights more of Robert Draper's article in GQ:

"(T)hree years later, when I asked a top White House official how he would characterize Rumsfeld's assistance in the response to Hurricane Katrina, I found out why. "It was commonly known in the West Wing that there was a battle with Rumsfeld regarding this," said the official. "I can't imagine another defense secretary throwing up the kinds of obstacles he did."

Though various military bases had been mobilized into a state of alert well before the advance team's tour, Rumsfeld's aversion to using active-duty troops was evident: "There's no doubt in my mind," says one of Bush's close advisers today, "that Rumsfeld didn't like the concept."

The next day, three days after landfall, word of disorder in New Orleans had reached a fever pitch. According to sources familiar with the conversation, DHS secretary Michael Chertoff called Rumsfeld that morning and said, "You're going to need several thousand troops."

"Well, I disagree," said the SecDef. "And I'm going to tell the president we don't need any more than the National Guard."


Read more: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/gq_report_blames_rumsfeld_for.html

[aquart]

1. Murderer.

[sharp_stick]

2. The entire administration should be in prison

but Rummy should get the Hannibal Lechter treatment. Single cell, no human contact, rest of his fucking pathetic life.

[No Elephants]

5. He's used to no human contact--He worked with Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rove, et al..

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, sabra.

[fascisthunter]

4. So It Was Deliberate

gee... why am I not shocked. The Bush Admin were a bunch of psycopaths.

[Wizard777]

8. Rumsfeld seemed more concerned with defending the deployment of their National Guard troops to Iraq

Than actually rescuing anyone in NOLA. He treated the incident as more of an attack upon the Iraq War decision than a rescue operation.

[fascisthunter]

9. That Decision was unconcionable...

but then again, Donald and the gang were never known for having much of a conscience.

[flyarm]

18. they were trying to break the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878

that was the Bush Junta was trying to do with the delays and the negotiations with Blanco..they did not succeed..because she was working with the former FEMA head under Clinton..who adivised her..because some of the powers behind the screen..knew or figured out what those evil Bush bastards were trying to do!

[Wizard777]

23. Patriot Act did away with Posse Comitatus.

[No Elephants]

6. Louisianians said Katrina was an answer to prayer about a solution to NOLA. These people are

heinous.

BTW--Heck of a job, Rummie!

[Wizard777]

7. This was known during Katrina. Rumsfeld denied a request for more National guard troops from Blanco

He said the Iraq Deployment only reduced their troops to 74%. That was more than enough. Then after Complaints to the media. Then they sent Gen. Honore on a look see. He determined that even if troop levels were at 100%. They STILL didn't have enough troops. He brought in back up. Gen. Honore is a Saint. Rumsfeld is just Satan.

[flyarm]

12. Yes it was and it was at the time Bush was trying to implement Martial Law on La and Blanco

and she fought them off!

Bush was trying to force Blanco to allow him to break Posse Comitatus Act

The Posse Comitatus Act was passed to remove the Army from civilian law enforcement and to return it to its role of defending the borders of the United States.

[Grinchie]

10. "We must use every resource available to us" - Cheney

in order to prolong and increase the amount of suffering and inequity in the world.

[flyarm]

13. what they were doing was letting it get bad enough in La to break the Posse Comitatus Act

Bush was trying to force Blanco to allow him to break Posse Comitatus Act

The Posse Comitatus Act was passed to remove the Army from civilian law enforcement and to return it to its role of defending the borders of the United States.

The Bush junta was holding Blanko captive and her state and trying to force on her the breaking of Posse Comitatus

She held them off ..but paid a very dear price...as did all in New Orleans

It was probably that MTF Rummy's idea..
Bush surely didn't know what the f ..Posse Comitatus was..along with everything he didn't freaking know!
He was the evil puppet of the evil puppeteers!

[defendandprotect]

15. As New Orleans goes, so goes the rest of the US?

Without doubt, chaos and disruption - military rule -- are desirable for the neo-con

Repugs --

"Third World America" - Harvesting slave labor - requires a strong military!!!

[flyarm]

16. Don't think for a minute any of this has stopped..it is why we must remain vigilant!

Oz is still behind the screen..awaiting the next chaos!

Problem is there is and was so much..many forget..to forget is to repeat..and many around here were too young to see this through history..
god forbid they ever put down the ipod and blackberry to read a history book!

[flyarm]

17. by the way The Times-Picayune did great reporting during Katrina and it's aftermath

it is a great place for those who don't know what went on behind the scenes can learn alot..

[defendandprotect]

19. Thank you -- I'll keep that in mind cause this subject often comes up . . .

Sadly, however, I think that still some of the corporate-press myths of Katrina --

looting, rapes, etal -- are still circulating . . . !!!

Amazingly, some have been corrected, but not sure all --

[applegrove]

11. I thought it was the pentagon at the time. I accused the Pentagon of being

the victim of some sort of giant magnet that then erased all institutional knowledge inside the Pentagon. But it was Rummy. I stand corrected.

[defendandprotect]

14. And our Commander in Chief . . . ??? Remember W?

Looks like Cheney and Rumsfeld were running government and Bush was in the gin -- eh, gym.

[xxqqqzme]

22. No doubt darth & rummy deserve

more than the lion's share of blame for the horrors of 2001-2009, we must not allow the chimperor to escape the responsibility of the administration to bear his name. This total failure of a human being was not qualified and did not have the capacity to comprehend the magnitude of the office of President of the United States. It was beyond his ability. He was raised w/ low expectations and that's what he is...and what we were saddled with for 8 years. Darth & rummy were there to fill in the empty spaces.

He is a good ole boy who fucks up and everyone gets a good laugh, slaps him on the back then they all buy him a round at the 19th hole.

But ultimately he OWNS the last 8 years.

[Wednesdays]

20. K&R

:kick:

[Peace Patriot]

21. I remember reading of the commander of a big battleship, with two hospitals on board,

who was prepared to follow the storm into New Orleans, and couldn't get permission from the Bushwhacks! They apparently had the phone off the hook. He said he tried and tried. I don't know who he was trying to call--I presumed it was the White House--but now I'm thinking it was Rumsfeld.

There was something else going on, behind the scenes, I think--a major war between Bush/Rove and Cheney/Libby over who would take the fall for outing Plame and Brewster-Jennings. The Bush White House was fracturing. Remember how hapless Bush looked as Katrina hit--and Bill Clinton and Daddy Bush coming out and standing behind him, when he finally held a press conference on Katrina? Where were his handlers? They let him get caught on camera eating birthday cake with McCain, and playing the guitar. Something real serious going on there, in my opinion--potential putsch or something.

I also remember reading an article about the electrical workers, who were working late at night in the middle of the hurricane, to restore electricity to some hospitals. They got a call from Cheney's office to stop trying to restore electricity to the hospitals, and switch to restoring electricity to the Texas-to-the-East-coast oil pipeline. That got buried somewhere in the news, too. Cheney was otherwise invisible during Katrina.