General: Feds Won't Enforce Evacuation

AP ^ | Sep 11 9:45 AM US/Eastern

[Brian Mosely]

WASHINGTON

The commander of active duty troops involved in hurricane relief efforts said Sunday his soldiers will not enforce New Orleans' order for residents to evacuate the flooded city.

Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore said military units are continuing to provide food and water and other aid despite the order, which he indicated is the responsibility of state and local authorities to enforce.

"Federal troops will not be involved in the direct evacuation in any way, of any one, from their home. That is a local and state law enforcement task not to include federal troops," Honore told CNN's "Late Edition."

He added that local officials and the National Guard also are providing food and water to people who have stayed.

Thousands of residents are defying orders to leave the city, but security forces were not physically forcing anyone to go. The mayor, Ray Nagin, had warned that residents could be forcibly removed, but authorities have been reluctant to take that step.

Honore, who heads the military's Joint Task Force Katrina, said that over the next three days, officials should learn how many people died in New Orleans. He said the preliminary figure of 10,000 offered last week by some officials was "a number we'd be very happy to be wrong about."

Honore also addressed the issue of media access during recover efforts. The Bush administration, challenged in court by CNN, agreed on Saturday not to prevent the media from following the effort to recover the bodies of Katrina victims.

On Thursday, Honore said the media would be allowed "zero access" to recovery efforts. But on Sunday, he said reporters and photographers have "total access" to the area.

"I can't swing a dead cat without hitting a reporter," Honore said.

He said his concern had been that news media would report deaths before family members had been notified. Reporters also were denied a seat on rescue craft because of concerns for overcrowding, he said.

The government is not permitting photographers to join rescuers in boats or helicopters during the mission to recover bodies from flooded homes.

[bert]

I can't say when it happened with absolute precicion. The folks came here on an evac plane Friday evening. Most on the plane left their NO homes Thursday and early Friday.

[don-o]

Here’s mine

Sounds like what happened here. We have a very nice place ready. They landed a plane at the TRI on Friday, mostly single men, and took them to a 4-H camp in Greene County.

[GretchenM]

They traipsed through the water and on emerging had the bag confiscated. The bag and contents including soggy money was said to be contaminated and disallowed in the evac processing areas and plane. They arrived here with nothing, no ID, no money.

By that reason, the people should have been disallowed (not that I agree with this). Come on, people! We have decontaminants!