January 25, 200620 yr Government 'blocks' Katrina probe A report ahead of Katrina warned flood defences could be breached The White House is crippling a Senate inquiry into the US government's response to Hurricane Katrina, senators leading the investigation have said. [Democrat Joseph Lieberman, a member of the Senate panel, said warnings about the risk Katrina posed to New Orleans had been ignored. He accused the White House of being unwilling to hand over documents which might explain why no action was taken. A White House spokesman insisted the administration was co-operating fully. Homeland Security Committee senators said agency officials had refused to answer questions about times and dates of meetings and telephone calls with the White House. "No-one believes the government acted adequately," Senator Lieberman said. "We can't put a story together if people feel they are under a gag order from the White House." The committee's Republican chairwoman, Sen Susan Collins, echoed his criticism of the government. While some of the president's communications were covered by executive privilege, the administration had gone too far in restricting information about who phoned whom on what day, she said. Sen Collins has previously criticised the initial response to Katrina as "sluggish" and unco-ordinated. 'Uncomfortable prospect' A White House spokesman said the administration was committed to working with investigators but it had a responsibility to protect the confidentiality of the president's advisers. "The ability to get advice from advisers on a confidential basis is a critical need for any US president and that is continuing to influence how we cooperate with the committees," spokesman Trent Duffy said. The BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says the final report, which will be published in March, is likely to make uncomfortable reading for the administration.
January 25, 200620 yr It has been known for years that the levees would have been breached in a huge storm. *yawn*
January 25, 200620 yr Is this trying to suggest that the Federal Government is responsible for New Orleans being built below sea level, or having a poorly constructed levee system? Stop trying to blame a hurricane on the government.
January 25, 200620 yr I think they're just trying to find out what communications took place, & why certain additional actions weren't taken.
January 25, 200620 yr No, they are just saying the executive branch is not being very cooperative with the investigation. It's amazing how holding people and policy accountable for not doing the job correctly is being blocked apathy. Hurricanes are hurricanes and levees are levees so let's just forget the whole thing ever happend. You guys want to insulate government failure because of your vague comprehension of causation?
January 25, 200620 yr Sure lets just blame the current administration for all the problems in the world including forces of nature. Lets continue on with the rhetoric and losing more elections. Lets probe into everything this president does.
January 25, 200620 yr Sure lets just blame the current administration for all the problems in the world including forces of nature. Lets continue on with the rhetoric and losing more elections. Lets probe into everything this president does. Who in this probe blamed the president?
January 25, 200620 yr Author Sure lets just blame the current administration for all the problems in the world including forces of nature. Lets continue on with the rhetoric and losing more elections. Lets probe into everything this president does. Who in this probe blamed the president? You see you are using your logic and your logic is not understood by others. To some it seems that looking into something means automatic guilt. I don't know why they think that but they do. Also let's ignore the fact that if the administration wasn't this unmoving wall towards this bi-partisan committee that this would be a non-news story for now. If the goverment is allowed to spy on us without warrants what's wrong with us knowing how they responded to a natural disaster, within reason? I mean if there is nothing to hide, they had to have the foresight that this would make the rounds if they stone walled.
January 26, 200620 yr Pertaining to spying on people without warrants...what happened when Robert F. Kennedy was wire tapping Martin Luther Kings telephone conversations? Back to the main topic...whenever you have a city that is built below the sea level I don't care how much communication and all other safety procedures are in place it's a f***ing natural disaster!
January 26, 200620 yr Author Pertaining to spying on people without warrants...what happened when Robert F. Kennedy was wire tapping Martin Luther Kings telephone conversations? Back to the main topic...whenever you have a city that is built below the sea level I don't care how much communication and all other safety procedures are in place it's a f***ing natural disaster! The FBI spying, not just wiretapping, on MLK was completely unknown at the time but when it came out years later it did have quite a bit of backlash against the governemnt and the FBI. And yeah there was no stopping the natural disaster and that is not what is being looked into, if choose to read what you are talking about. What is being looked into is how the disaster was responded to, to see if in the future perhaps there might be things we can do better. Or if there was some gross oversight now that needs to be known by the public. I don't see what is so wrong with that, it is a bi-partisan group, and even republicans are upset by the stonewalling going on.
January 26, 200620 yr Who didn't the FBI have a file on in the 1960's? Hoover had a file on everyone.
January 26, 200620 yr I would hope the probe is into the lack of government response on all levels, not why the levees failed in the worst storm surge on record.
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