The Government Official In Charge of Responding to the Oil Spill Was the Official In Charge of Responding to Hurricane Katrina → Washingtons Blog
The Government Official In Charge of Responding to the Oil Spill Was the Official In Charge of Responding to Hurricane Katrina - Washingtons Blog

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Government Official In Charge of Responding to the Oil Spill Was the Official In Charge of Responding to Hurricane Katrina


I have provided a balanced overview of the oil spill.

I have tried to diffuse partisan comparisons of the oil spill with Hurricane Katrina.

But I just read something which is making me lose my composure a tad.

As the New York Times reports:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that she was changing the federal leadership of the oil spill operations. Adm. Thad W. Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard, is now directly overseeing the work of Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry, who had been in charge of the response. Admiral Allen was in charge of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
The same guy who oversaw the brilliant government response to Katrina is overseeing its response to the Gulf oil spill?

Well, that's confidence-inspiring ...

Update: Several readers have said that the Coast Guard was one of the only agencies which actually helped rescue people during Katrina, and that FEMA - and not the Coast Guard - is responsible for the government's incompetence. If true, then I apologize to the Coast Guard.

10 comments:

  1. As I recall, the Coast Guard was the ONLY gov't agency that responded to Katrina in a timely, efficient and competent manner. Those guys were awesome, plucking people off roofs before the wind even quieted down, providing medical treatment where no one else could, and supplying food and medicine before Brownie even rolled up his sleeves.

    Everyone screwed the pooch with Katrina, everyone but the Guard.

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  2. As I recall, the Coast Guard rescued isolated, stranded people in Mississippi and New Orleans, using helicopters flown from their base of operations in Mobile, Alabama. They did a fantastic job, and were a high-functioning part of the operation, in contrast to FEMA and other entities. This is probably because they conduct real-world rescues every day, and are well-practiced.

    As for BP, after the explosions in Texas City and now 18 dead due to this explosion, they deserve to be sued out of existence for preventable deaths, in addition to monumental environmental and business damages. Lord Browne was only forced to resign from BP due to a homosexual scandal, not the American deaths. Perhaps this time the British and American public will demand accountability from the limited liability corporations who created this disaster. - KMc

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  3. Why is it that natural disasters can have a price tag?

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  4. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

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  5. The man who screwed up Katrina was Mike Brown the horse trainer. Admiral Allen took the response to Katrina AWAY from him after he had made sure thousands of people were dead. Admiral Landry should be discharged for incompetence.

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  6. Seriously? I can’t believe you guys are jumping on this band wagon. I was in the Coast Guard during Katrina. Obviously none of you paid any real attention to what was going on down there. The Coast Guard rescued over 33,000 people. We had unit’s from as far away as Alaska there and moving in as soon as the helo’s could get air borne. We had small boat and air boat units from all over, including Michigan where I was stationed at the time, on scene and underway as soon as the weather allowed. All this was under Thad Allen’s direction. Sheriff Jack Stephens of Bernard Parish said the Coast Guard was the only federal agency to provide any significant assistance for a full week after the storm. When two representatives from the U.S. Government Accountability Office came to ask him how he would fix the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), he said: “I would abolish it,” he told them. “I’d —- up FEMA and ask the Coast Guard what it needs.” Please don’t confuse the U.S. Coast Guard with FEMA. That’s like comparing apples to a pile of $hit….FEMA being the pile of course.

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  7. Another question is how many SWAPs did BP taken out on its Gulf operations before this accident? Want to bet GS is making money on this.

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  8. What is the problem with setting up many underwater pumps at the exit points to at least contain portions of water.

    BP can provide the ships to have the water/oil mix pumped into.

    The more pumps the better, the more ships the better. This should continue until problem is fixed.

    Also, PAUL STAMETS should be in charge of the cleanup if you ask me.

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  9. I am sure this is a "COAST GUARD" prop-aganda blog, but I'll take the chance that the truth can be posted here about a WAR CRIMINAL, rather than a WAR HERO in the person of THADEUS ALLEN who will take "MILITARY FORCES" and target American People with them....

    Read about it here....

    Part 1 is here;

    http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/geneva-conventions-redefined-–-part-1-the-new-u-s-department-of-war/

    Part 2 is here;

    http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/geneva-conventions-redefined-–-part-2-militarization-of-the-coast-guard/

    http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/067398-2010-04-13-geneva-conventions-redefined-part-2-militarization-of-the-coast-guard.htm

    Part 3 is here;

    http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/geneva-conventions-redefined-–-part-3-ucmj-separation-between-military-and-civilian-affairs/

    Part 4 is here:

    http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/geneva-conventions-redefined-–-part-4-propaganda-and-obfuscation/

    Admiral Allen is HIDING behind the service and work of the Coast Guard for what he and Admiral Loy and Admiral Collins and others have been involved in - with placing MILITARY LAW on top of and so as to administer CIVILIAN AFFAIRS....

    This includes DISASTER RESPONSE....?

    And his work in KATRINA was not so honorable..

    And FEMA has USCG ex-Admirals in it as the seconds in Command under Michael Brown's tenure...

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  10. BP is denying any responsibility for the explosion and it should now be considered the responsibility of the firm hired to manage the platform. Follow the money, who is to benefit from this well? Lets just nationalize this one from BP as well as any others they may have in the gulf until they see the light and pay in full for all damage to wildlife, the coastline, the cleanup costs and those whose work is effected by the spill. Maybe BP should not be allowed to do business in our country.

    ReplyDelete

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