A lot of stories are coming together on this. Much of this is pulled together from comments on Daily Kos.
The Red Cross, FEMA and the military knew they would be needed and went on alert as the weekend before Katrina made landfall. So where were they? The Red Cross was told to stay out until a coordinated effort was made. The military is prevented by law from operating in the US until they are given proper orders. FEMA iwas waiting on orders. Everyone was waiting on orders that didn't go out.
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Red tape keeping much of military on sidelines
Northern Command Unit READY - BUT WAITED on Bush Orders
"Others have talked about the Red Cross being told to stay away, and I know that Northwest Medical Teams was also told by FEMA to stay away until Friday. NWMT is very frustrated because they were ready to be on the ground MONDAY, the day Katrina hit."
The LA governor sent a request for assistance on Sunday 08/28, several of my posts down, but some on TV are trying to say he sent the wrong form. "I request direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property. I request that you declare an expedited major disaster for the State of Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina, a Category V Hurricane approaches our coast south of New Orleans: beginning on August 28, 2005 and continuing."
This is like the head of Homeland Security saying the mayor of New Orleans never properly communicated there was another convention center with over 10,000 people needing help.
FEMA relief driver yesterday - had his truck loaded with water in Houston on Monday, but wasn't given the order to head to NOLA until Thursday/Friday.
Nine stockpiles of fire-and-rescue equipment strategically placed around the country to be used in the event of a catastrophe still have not been pressed into service in New Orleans, five days after Hurricane Katrina, CNN has learned.
More than 44 foreign governments and international organisations have offered aid to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
Sri Lanka and Indonesia, who were recipients of US assistance after the tsunami, were among the list of potential donors.
Cuba and Venezuela put aside their differences with the Bush administration to offer assistance. The US state department said all the offers were being examined. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela - a major oil exporting country - said he had offered to send cheap fuel. The state department has not decided whether to accept it.
What does the Mayor of New Orleans have to say about this:
"You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on man," he said.
"I need reinforcements," he pleaded. "I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. This is a national disaster.
"I've talked directly with the president," he said. "I've talked to the head of the homeland security. I've talked to everybody under the sun."
"I've been out there man. I flew in these helicopters, been in the crowds talking to people crying, don't know where their relatives are. I've done it all man, and I'll tell you man, I keep hearing that it's coming. This is coming, that is coming. And my answer to that today is BS, where is the beef? Because there is no beef in this city. "
Nagin said, "Get every Greyhound bus in the country and get them moving."
Nagin called for a moratorium on press conferences "until the resources are in this city."
"They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying," he said.
"I don't know whether it's the governor's problem, or it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get ... on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now," Nagin said.
"They thinking small, man, and this is a major, major deal," he said.
"Get off your asses and let's do something."
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