AP: Aug 29
Ex-FEMA Chief Blames Administration
(AP/Susan Walsh)
George Bush, with "Brownie"
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who lost his job because of Hurricane Katrina, said Tuesday his biggest regret a year later is that he wasn't candid enough about the lack of a coherent federal response plan.
"There was no plan....Three years ago, we should have done catastrophic planning," Brown said, charging that the Bush administration and his department head, Michael Chertoff, "would not give me the money to do that kind of planning."
As levees broke down at Katrina's strike against New Orleans and people were forced from their homes, Brown said he sought futilely to get the 82nd Airborne Division into the city quickly.
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, he was asked about positive statements he had made at the time about how Washington would come through for the storm victims, rather than leveling with the country about how bad the situation actually was.
"Those were White House talking points," Brown replied. "And to this day, I think that was my biggest mistake."...
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