Friday, September 09, 2005

What Went Wrong 3

FEMA sucks. We know that. But, why? Well, let's get to the third big problem here:

Cronyism.

"Top officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have strong political connections to President Bush, but they also share at least one other trait: They had little or no experience in disaster management before landing in top FEMA posts."

Michael Brown was made head of FEMA with almost no experience whatsoever in disaster management. However: "Before joining FEMA in 2001, Brown, a protege of longtime Bush aide Joseph Allbaugh, was commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association." A job he apparently failed as well.

How did he do in New Orleans?

"The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Brown waited until hours after Katrina had struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees to the region--and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents." Ultimately, it took about five days for them to arrive.

What does Bush think of all this? To quote: "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."

No comments: