Before Katrina Struck, Brown Warned Bush ‘The Levees Could Actually Breach

[sabra]

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/03/brown-warned-bush/

Before Katrina Struck, Michael Brown Warned Bush ‘The Levees Could Actually Breach’

On September 1, two days after the storm hit, President Bush said “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” Last night on CNN, former FEMA Director Michael Brown said he personally warned President Bush the levees could breach before the storm hit:


MESERVE: In the transcripts of the 29th briefing, you talk about conversations you had that morning with the president. This is the day of landfall…How did the president know to ask about breaches of the levees? Did he have reports in hand at that time already that that had happened in New Orleans?

BROWN: There’s no question in my mind he probably had those reports, because we were feeding in the Homeland Security Operations Center, into the White House sit room, all of the information that we were getting. So he had to have had that information. Plus, I think the president knew from our earlier conversations that that was one of my concerns, that the levees could actually breach.


The White House still maintains that Bush’s September 1 statement was accurate and the media continues to play along

[MadMaddie]

1. The propaganda machine says don't believe your eyes and

ears.....don't pay attention the video....


Bush lied....people died....!!

[phantom power]

2. Last night on NBC news, I saw a crawler which said...

there was video released of LA's governor, telling Bush that the levies were secure. Of course, I haven't actually seen this video. Seems like BushCo damage control, but I wonder if anybody has actually seen such video.

[Warpy]

3. So Brown isn't quite as incompetent as he originally seemed

and his boss is just as incompetent as we all fear he is. It still adds up to a heartless administrartion, neglect of duty, misapplied resources, stupid ideological posturing, a trashed public agency, a destroyed city, and a few thousand dead citizens.

What is it going to take to realize that this bunch is killing us all, either quickly or slowly?

[Jayhawk Lib]

4. Whenever you have levees and a storm

is brewing, you always have a chance that the levees will breach. It is dumb to build below sea level and depend on the levees to keep the sea at bay. It is even dumber to rebuild the levees and and then rebuild homes and business in the same place where you have to depend on the levees. If you are going to rebuild you need to go inland where it is above sea level.