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post-katrina emergency management
Feb. 23rd, 2006 02:16 pmIt looks like there are voices in the administration with some sense about disasters:
In case you're wondering why this is a good idea, please recall this article from the onion:
When I was growing up, I'd always just assumed that this was the thing that the national guard was actually for, aside from facing off against our enemy to the north. Obviously there's a lot of questions that need to be answered in this sort of thing, so you don't, say, end up with soldiers/national guardsmen facing off against civilians when an administration gets pissed off or wants to score a few points in the polls, but hey that second amendment's got to be good for something.
Emergency management in the United States is about to look very, very different — if the White House gets its way, that is. A report released Thursday by White House homeland security adviser Frances Townsend recommends, among other things, that the Pentagon take the lead role in highly catastrophic disasters that overwhelm state and local officials.
This comes after thousands of National Guard troops and the active-duty military, led by Gen. Russel Honore, gained wide praise for their response to Hurricane Katrina last summer.
The move is significant because it removes the Department of Homeland Security from its lead role in disaster response during the most significant national disasters. A 426-page National Response Plan that the administration released last year to describe standard procedures during terrorism incidents and natural disasters put DHS—led by Secretary Michael Chertoff—in the driver's seat no matter how severe the catastrophe.
In case you're wondering why this is a good idea, please recall this article from the onion:
Louisiana National Guard Offers Help By Phone From Iraq
BAGHDAD—The 4,000 Louisiana National Guardsmen stationed in Iraq, representing over a third of the state's troops, called home this week to find out what, if any, help they could offer Katrina survivors from overseas. "The soldiers wanted to know if they could call 911 for anyone, or perhaps send some water via FedEx," said Louisiana National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Pete Schneider. The Guardsmen also "would love to send generators, rations, and Black Hawk helicopters for rescue missions," but, said Schneider, "we desperately need these in Iraq to stay alive." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised the phone support, but noted that it would take months to transfer any equipment from Iraq to New Orleans, saying, "You fight a national disaster with the equipment you have."
When I was growing up, I'd always just assumed that this was the thing that the national guard was actually for, aside from facing off against our enemy to the north. Obviously there's a lot of questions that need to be answered in this sort of thing, so you don't, say, end up with soldiers/national guardsmen facing off against civilians when an administration gets pissed off or wants to score a few points in the polls, but hey that second amendment's got to be good for something.
