'John Wayne dude' general blasts Katrina complaints as 'B.S.

Lieutenant General Russel Honore lived up to his 'John Wayne dude' nickname, blasting complaints that red tape or poor security were snarling relief efforts as "B.S."

The fiery general, in charge of the military component of the mission, lost his rag during a press conference after President George W. Bush's visit to rescue coordinators here.

"I can tell you that is B.S. We have got 300 helicopters and some of the finest EMS workers in the world down there.

"There is no red tape ... there are isolated incidents that people take to paint a broad brush."

Honore also lashed out at questions from journalists at the Baton Rouge emergency operations center concerning the security situation in New Orleans.

"You need to get on the streets of New Orleans, you can't sit back here and say what you hear from someone else.

"It is secure, we walk around without any issues. Why the hell are you trying to make that the issue, if you can help, get there and help," he said, saying that people were being scared away by reports of violence.

When one reporter argued that there still reports of bureaucracy and unrest stalling relief efforts in some outlying parishes of New Orleans, Honore fumed: "I don't care if it is Hancock County, Mississippi -- we are not going to have that kind of issue."

The comments that sparked Honore's verbal blast were apparently made by US Representative Bobby Jindal, who represents a New Orleans district.

"The bureaucracy needs to do more than one thing at a time. It's appropriate to save people with helicopters, but it can't be done to the exclusion of everything else," Jindal was quoted by Time magazine as saying.

Honore did not discount that Jindal may be basing his complaints on "isolated" incidents, and said he would follow up with him.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin dubbed Honore 'one John Wayne dude' in admiration for his efforts when he showed up in the city last week.

"He came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving," Nagin said in a radio interview on Thursday.

From the CNN transcript:

COOPER: In retrospect, was it a mistake for the federal government in the last couple years to cut the budget for the army corps of engineers in southeastern Louisiana for hurricane protection? Was it a mistake to cut some of the federal funding for flood control in that region?

LOTT: Yes, I do think that's been a mistake. People that don't live in flood areas of the country -- and lots of the country don't really fully understand good work the corps does and how badly we need it. Yes, I don't think it was a wise decision. I think we should put more into flood control problems.

But, you know, you've got papers like the "Washington Post" editorializing against what the corps does when they build levees and they build pumps. But yes, we ought to be putting more into it, and I vote that way every year.

[Quotes below are from Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Chief of Engineers, and are excerpted from his remarks during a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Special Briefing for the media via conference call on Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 1 p.m. EDT. A full transcript is available from the Public Affairs Office at (202) 761-0011.]

There have been suggestions that inadequate funding for levee projects delayed their completion and resulted in the flooding of New Orleans.

GEN. STROCK: "In fact, the levee failures we saw were in areas of the projects that were at their full project design... So that part of the project was in place, and had this project been fully complete ... [West Bank, Southeast Louisiana, and Lake Ponchartrain] it's my opinion, based on the intensity of this storm, that the flooding of the Central Business District and the French Quarter would still have occurred. So I do not see that the level of funding is really a contributing factor in this case."

There have also been suggestions that the Corps of Engineers was unable to fully fund flood control needs in New Orleans or elsewhere because funding was diverted to the Global War on Terror.

GEN. STROCK: "Let me also address the issue of the general impact of the war in Iraq on civil works funding. We've seen some suggestions that our budget has been affected by the war. I can also say that I do not see that to be the case. If you look at the historical levels of funding for the Corps of Engineers from the pre-war levels back to 1992, '91, before we actually got into this, you'll see that the level of funding has been fairly stable throughout that period. So I think we would see that our funding levels would have dropped off if that were the case; so I do not see that as an issue that is relevant to the discussion of the flood protection of the City of New Orleans."

Finally, some believe that New Orleans flooded because there were inadequate coastal wetlands in Southern Louisiana to absorb the storm surge.

GEN. STROCK: "Again, my assessment in this case is that any loss of wetlands in the barrier islands associated with those processes did not have a significant impact on this event. I say this because the storm track took it east of the City of New Orleans, and most of those barrier islands and marshlands are located to the south and west of the city; so the storm did not track through that direction anyway, and I don't think that that was a contributing factor in the situation."

Did you happen to hear Rush today? I actually got to. He blasted those idiots out of the water. Then this one guy actually called in and accused him of spinning and said that he really believes that Bush wants black people dead. Just when I thought the DUmmies couldn't get any dummber. This pinhead was blaming the situation on Republicans. I loved Rush's response. He said, "what party has been in charge of the city of New Orleans for the past 50 (?) years?" The guy says, "democrats." Then Rush said, "and what party has been running the state of Louisiana for the past 5 decades?" The guy says, "democrats." Rush goes on to ask him him how, in a city run by democats in a state run by democrats, he could say it was the Republicans' fault. LOL! It was great. Needless to say, the guy didn't have an answer, so he spouted some NAACP talking points crap about how Bush wouldn't meet with black leaders.

He said, "what party has been in charge of the city of New Orleans for the past 50 (?) years?" The guy says, "democrats." Then Rush said, "and what party has been running the state of Louisiana for the past 5 decades?" The guy says, "democrats." Rush goes on to ask him him how, in a city run by democats in a state run by democrats, he could say it was the Republicans' fault. LOL! It was great. Needless to say, the guy didn't have an answer..

No, I didn't get to listen to him; I need to get a radio with a non-broken antenna at work so I can hear him.

Those are great questions asked by Rush....there would be no sane or truthful answer to that if one was intent on continuing to blame Bush/Republicans....yet, they try. thanks for the update.

You speak a lot without knowledge and I am not going to get into a sparring match with you over this. You are wrong when you say I am a Lott hater. I am not. I can't stand a lot about him but I do not hate him.

I can discern a lot about a politician or any person when they have as much face time on TV as Trent does.

I don't like the man's oppressive persona. I don't like his racial stance. I think he is slimy. He has done some fine things, I am sure, meaning, he has cast some votes that have helped his state and the nation. But I personally do not like watching him speak. It's like the old saying, You don't want to eat bologna once you've seen it made.

The end.

tell me you are REAL sure you are not a Lott hater. If you are not a Lott hater you would make a real good one.

I am "real sure."

You seem determined to pigeon-hole me in that category. You are wrong if you do.

I am a Christian, born again, as you state on your home page that you are. A person can strongly dislike, even hate, what someone does without hating him / her or wanting to be in the same room with him / her. That's how I am re Lott. I tell you before God and by the faith I have in Jesus Christ, I do not hate Trent Lott. If that isn't enough to convince you -- my testimony through the blood of the One who forgives me -- nothing will.

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