These preliminary observations, and others under review, form the framework for an in-depth analysis of our response to Hurricane Katrina and will enable DoD to better plan for the next catastrophic event. |
This may well have been a very painful disclosure of a gap in our capability that we must now correct to deal with not only natural disasters, but with terrorist attacks that may be even larger in scope. |
U.S. military forces executed the largest, fastest, most comprehensive and most responsive civil support mission ever. In a domestic relief operation unprecedented in scale, over 72,000 federal military and National Guard forces flowed into the Gulf Coast region over a 12-day period to assist fellow Americans in distress. |
We all have different radios. We all use different frequencies. Yet we all must be able to talk to each other. |
We anticipate providing from the Department of Defense a 500-bed mobile hospital. That will be deployed in the New Orleans area. |
We cannot excuse that kind of misconduct because we happen to belong to the same party as the president or agree with him on issues or feel tragically that the removal of the president from office would be enormously painful for the United States of America. |
We have learned from the Katrina experience. Shame on us if we didn't. But for anyone to pretend that we have all the answers, while still involved in the initial response, would be both foolish and premature. |
We need to be convinced that a dereliction of character has now been repaired and this type of deceit won't happen again, |
We performed well, but we intend to get better, |
We prepared well. We were not passive. We were not slow. |
we want to do more than watch TV. . . . We want to ensure as a matter of policy we have better eyes on target. |
We will be deploying into New Orleans a force the size of the New Orleans police department each day, every day, for the next three days. That is a remarkable movement of law enforcement capability into an area that clearly needs augmentation and reinforcement, |
With that drawdown toward the end of the week we recognize that the mission of Joint Task Force-Katrina is now approaching what we believe to be a successful conclusion, |