Timeline:Takedown of FEMA,Disaster Planning
More on the FEMA disaster from another source, hey it aint David Ickies:
When the Bush-Cheney Administration took office in 2001 with a ideological determination to downsize and privatize much of the programs and services provided by the Federal government, one of its targets was the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It was almost universally acknowledged at that time, that FEMA had been transformed into one of the best-functioning government agencies during the Clinton Administration.
FEMA was established in 1979, and during the Cold War period of the 1980s, its focus was narrowed from natural disasters, to a potential nuclear attack and related continuity-of-government functions. As a result, FEMA was unable to respond quickly and adequately to East Coast hurricanes in 1989 and 1992. But after this, as even the Wall Street Journal noted in a major report Aug. 16, 2004, the Clinton Administration revitalized FEMA, and its broadened approach "turned FEMA into an agency widely regarded as one of the government's most effective." What the Journal failed to acknowledge, was that it was strong Presidential leadership and support for FEMA's mission, that made the process work.
This timeline shows what has happened to FEMA's role and its unique capabilities since 2001, and provides the backdrop for the events described in the first timeline.
FEMA Made Inoperative
By Bush/Cheney Agenda
by Mary Jane Freeman
New Orleans emergency official Terry Ebbert called the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina's assault "a national disgrace." On the morning of Aug. 31, at the New Orleans Superdome, he warned that the slow evacuation there had become an "incredibly explosive situation," and he complained bitterly that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not offering enough help: "This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control...."
When the Bush-Cheney Administration took office in 2001 with a ideological determination to downsize and privatize much of the programs and services provided by the Federal government, one of its targets was the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It was almost universally acknowledged at that time, that FEMA had been transformed into one of the best-functioning government agencies during the Clinton Administration.
FEMA was established in 1979, and during the Cold War period of the 1980s, its focus was narrowed from natural disasters, to a potential nuclear attack and related continuity-of-government functions. As a result, FEMA was unable to respond quickly and adequately to East Coast hurricanes in 1989 and 1992. But after this, as even the Wall Street Journal noted in a major report Aug. 16, 2004, the Clinton Administration revitalized FEMA, and its broadened approach "turned FEMA into an agency widely regarded as one of the government's most effective." What the Journal failed to acknowledge, was that it was strong Presidential leadership and support for FEMA's mission, that made the process work.
This timeline shows what has happened to FEMA's role and its unique capabilities since 2001, and provides the backdrop for the events described in the first timeline.
FEMA Made Inoperative
By Bush/Cheney Agenda
by Mary Jane Freeman
New Orleans emergency official Terry Ebbert called the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina's assault "a national disgrace." On the morning of Aug. 31, at the New Orleans Superdome, he warned that the slow evacuation there had become an "incredibly explosive situation," and he complained bitterly that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not offering enough help: "This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control...."
