On Tuesday, Knight Ridder made life more difficult for Director of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff with a report noting that it was he — and not Mike Brown — who was in a position to launch an aggressive federal response, but waited a day and a half before pulling the trigger. The leaked info prompted speculation that maybe the long knives are out for Chertoff among the Bush gang.
Knight Ridder moves the ball forward today with another report questioning Chertoff’s priorities before the devastation began.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the U.S. official with the power to order a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina, flew to Atlanta for a previously scheduled briefing on avian flu on the morning after the storm swept ashore.
Chertoff’s decision to fly to Georgia for a business-as-usual briefing even as residents in New Orleans fought for their lives in rising floodwaters raises new questions about how much top officials knew about what was happening on the Gulf Coast and how focused they were on the unfolding tragedy.
In fact, Chertoff didn’t know for sure that New Orleans’ life-preserving levees had failed until a full day had passed.
Not until Chertoff was returning from Atlanta on Aug. 30 did he begin writing the memo that declared Katrina “an incident of national significance” and put the full force of the federal government behind the relief and rescue efforts.
Critics charge that the delay in making the designation until about 36 hours after the storm may have been one reason why federal help was slow in coming and why no one seemed to be in charge in the disaster zone.
Granted, Chertoff’s Avian flu briefing may not be quite as troubling as the president’s schedule that day, but it obviously raises questions about him not taking this storm seriously enough before it struck the coast.
And behind the story, did Knight Ridder come across Chertoff’s schedule or did someone in the administration leak it?