AP Clarifies Bush Video

Memo to all you Bush haters.  The AP has clarified the “Breech” video.

At first I was hesitant to say much because the only two places that carried the story were Drudge and Powerline.  (Drudge now links to the story in the Columbia, SC "The State" Newspaper)

Drudge is usually reliable, but lefties swear he makes all of his stuff up.  It’s their little delusion they love to hold on to.  Powerline is also extremely reliable, but since they are conservative, the left would again consider the source suspect.  Now we find it being carried by the liberal Arizona Star – no friend of Bush.

WASHINGTON — An Associated Press story Thursday on this page incorrectly reported that federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing among U.S. officials.

The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about floodwaters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaching.

The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun.

The day before the storm hit, Bush was told there were grave concerns that the levees could be overrun. It wasn't until the next morning, as the storm was hitting, that Michael Brown, then head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Bush had inquired about reports of breaches.

Bush does not have “blood on his hands” like I saw a couple of idiots lefty blogs say.

Bush did not cause the levees to breech.  He did not want the levees to breech.  According to Governor Blanco at noon on August 29th, she told the white house the levees held.  That was three hours after the breech occurred!

Why aren’t you demanding her head on a platter for passing false information?  Why?   You know why. She’s a Democrat.

Thanks to Wizbang for the Carnival of the  Trackbacks!

VW

Comments

[Scottage]

I like your blog in general, and respect many of your views. But this one, I don't know, I watched that video like 5 times, they were pretty clear on how much damage could be expected, and there was no ambiguity there. Now I don't know if Bush was really listening, he didn't ask any questions, but the video doesn't lie, the information was laid out for him.

[Violence Worker]

OK. He was at a briefing and it was speculated the levees might be overrun. Was he supposed to ask questions? People are under some misguided idea that he was required to ask something. Perhaps he understood it. Why is it Bush's fault that the Levees were breeched in the first place?

Blanco told the White hous - THE PRESIDENT- that the levees WERE NOT breeched when in fact they had been 3 hours earlier. Not just overrun, but breached.

There is a helluva difference between breeched and overrun. The severity of damage is different.

What did you expect the President to do? He personally does not direct the relief. The people below him are supposed to do that. If they fail, as in Brown's case, they get fired and leave in disgrace.

Again I say, if you think the government will save you in a disaster, plan on not being saved. Your expectations will probably be met.

VW

[Terry Turner]

If you listen to the Blanco tape, you'll find that she said it was an "unconfirmed" report that the levees had held. But she also noted that there were reports that the levees had breached.

You'll also hear her say there is flooding in the city and you will hear her asking for immediate search and rescue help from the feds. The Coast Guard broke orders for four days to carry out uncoordinated search and rescue efforts.

Next, if you know anything about levees being topped -- you'll know that is tantamount to a breach. Spending a lot of time along the Mississippi in 1994-95 -- there wasn't a single levee topped by flood waters there that didn't breach. Topping allows rapid erosion causing the levees to cave.