He sounded like Snoop Dog!
Posted on 09/03/2005 8:04:59 AM PDT by Carl/NewsMax
New Orleans Police Chief Edwin Compass said Friday that hurricane rescue efforts were hampered when relief workers came under attack by the city's criminal element, prompting conditions that resembled "urban warfare."
"We have never had an urban warfare battle like this on any front in the history of our nation," Compass told NBC's "Dateline."
"You're fighting in buildings that are pitch black with darkness. These individuals have root - the criminal element have looted all the gun shops and gun stores in this city, so they're armed, they're dangerous."
Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief Michael Brown, under fire for his agency's slow response, echoed Chief Compass's complaint, telling CNN: "We are working under conditions of urban warfare."
Though the city's crime rate is ten times the national average, U.S. news outlets downplayed the connection between New Orleans' outsized criminal element and delays in rescue efforts.
Saturday's London Times, however, painted a bleak picture of the challenges faced by local police as they tried to restore order.
"One New Orleans police officer wept as he described seeing bodies riddled with bullets, and the top of one man's head shot off. He said some looters were armed with AK-47 rifles, and compared the situation with Somalia, with police outnumbered and outgunned by gangs in trucks . . .
"An effort to remove patients and staff from Charity Hospital, in the city centre, was suspended after it came under sniper fire . . .
"'It's a war-zone, and they're not treating it like one,' he said, referring to the federal government . . . Gunmen continued to fire on troops and rescue helicopters, and police officials said that many officers had stopped reporting for duty, cutting manpower by 20 per cent."
The mayor and governor were unprepared, not competent to handle this crisis. If the Pres. hadn't called the governor to tell her to issue a mandatory evacuation, she wouldn't, and it's unimaginable what would have happened.
The chaos and increase in sufferring was exaccerbated by no one taking charge. A total lack of leadership at the state and local levels.
Where I see the Feds and White House being blamed, is for not recognizing soon enough that New Orleans had no leadership. I understand the Feds not wanting to usurp the power or authority of local gov't. But they needed to assign someone to go to Louisiana and hold that mayor's hand and guide him thru what he needed to do and say. On- the-job leadership training. Someone needed to get that mayor out there on a bullhorn calming, encouraging, directing and inspiring his citizens.
Once the White House realized that the Mayor was not only not helping the situation but adding to the problems with his hysteria, they finally took complete control.
In the future, the Feds need to assess quickly who they're dealing with, and whether that city or state official is capable of responding to the crisis or not. Getting someone into the locale to accompany & advise the local official seems crucial to establishing the best possible outcome after a disaster.
You are absolutely right, my dear, and what I'm concerned about is that in the midst of a frenetic, hurried relocation effort, a lot of the vermin could slip through the cracks.
I see a lot of problems ahead.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong.
"I see a lot of problems ahead.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong."
I hope you are wrong too - but I don't think you are.
There will be frustration in these communities that are taking in evacuees in a month or two - and it will be understandable. The vermin will come out.
I agree, but this certainly isn't the first time an incompetent local official has been allowed to hold off the Feds. Remember the dread Chief Moose? A number of people died because he was allowed to diddle along being incompetent (and biased, since he knew perfectly well from the police reports that it was not a white suspect they were looking for). Everything should have been taken out of his hands - but it wasn't.
That said, I don't know what kind of laws exist that permit Federal intervention in cases of incompetence. In the case of Blanco and Nagin, I'd say it was even close to dereliction of duty. But can the Feds really intervene, without having to do something maybe a tad excessive, such as declaring war on the state of LA?
Speaking as someone who lived through the L.A. riots, they're the same criminals and gangs that perpetrate crime everyday in N.O. They just had a little territorial field day in the absence of law enforcement, and the opportunity to give free-reign to their base intentions.
When soliers and LEOs start showing-up in numbers they'll be sitting on the porch saying, "What took you so long?"
He sounded like Snoop Dog!
Effect elections...
Just get the names of those who are leaving and check out who votes next time around. Bet they are the same...
Hmmm, you must be anyother nitwit that believes that humans all have psychic abilities.
You must think that the gun dealers KNEW that the devastation was going to be this bad.
You must think that the gun dealers KNEW, prior to the hurricane, to rent a U-haul to carry all their guns and ammo out.
You must think that the gun dealers KNEW that the governor of Louisiana would send the National Guard in without 'shoot to kill' orders regarding looters.
You must think that the gun dealers KNEW ALL THIS BEFORE the hurricane hit.
Are you sure you're not a DU troll? The belief that human beings have precognitive abilities is a sure sign of DU'ism.
(Bush KNEW that the hurricane was going to destroy New Orleans, but he didn't do anything. It's all Bush's fault!)
Yes, that was pretty depressing. Actually, it was pretty shocking. And I thought Nagin got elected because he was considered a "reform" candidate. I'd hate to see what his opponent was like, if he's the good guy...
BINGO!
I know there will defintely be some gang wars to come in Detroit
Great pic..will be making a T-shirt transfer shortly!
The 'shoot-to-kill' order given only YESTERDAY... Now that is criminal negligence.
She had the information on the looting and the shooting before yesterday and did nothing.
I wonder how many died by her inaction.
Yes, Wal-Mart had over $250,000 worth of guns stolen last report
Wise choice. Who can blame them? They are going to be pleasantly surprised there are other cities that are not organized crime operations as was the city of New Orleans.
I haven't investigated this other than the info given to me by a niece who once shopped for welfare. She decided to stay in Texas with relatives and did get off the rolls.
That's what I heard too.
" but this certainly isn't the first time an incompetent local official has been allowed to hold off the Feds."
No, it certainly isn't the first time, and probably won't be the last.
The Chief Moose situation was very different. That was totally law enforcement. And maybe in that case, the mayor (the chief's boss) should have stepped in.
I think in a situation of a natural disaster, the local authorities are looking for help and advice, (this mayor certainly was), especially if they haven't been thru a similar disaster in the past. Sending an adviser to aid the mayor or governor, isn't taking all control out of the hands of local authority.
In the end, it would avoid any appearance of "dereliction of duty". The official would be advised on how to handle things and how to remain in charge. If anything, the mayor or governor would probably end up looking like a hero.
It seems that in a population that is prone to riot, couldn't they get it right just this once and riot against their own criminal element especially when they are raping and murdering their own children?
I guess the paid instigators weren't there to direct them?
And please don't flame me as I lived through 5 race riots in Richmond California as a kid. They tried to burn out the downtown and my neighbor's ambulances as he was trying to rescue injured people.
In this state famous for corruption and incompetence and a carefree attitude (irresponsibility) a massive disaster was inevitable.
Everyone has known for decades that anything above a cat 3 hurricane hitting NO would flood the city.
It would take extremely responsible people to adequately prepare and totally evacuate this city every time a hurricane was headed in their direction.
Somewhere along the line denial set in and they just began laughing at the danger.
Hurricane parties are so much more fun than boarding up windows and packing you valuables to go stay in a motel a hundred miles away.
That's simply the natural, expected consequence of centuries of oppression...at least, that's a firmly-held belief by some liberal social activists (aka: morons).
Of course, the plain truth of the matter is there just isn't any excuse for this nonsense. None.
Civil authorities are justified in putting down riots by any means necessary.
Any means.
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