Katrina path of destruction
***
May God watch over the people of the South from Down Under
President to Return to D.C.
to Oversee Hurricane Response
By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, August 30, 2005; 4:57 PM
CORONADO, Calif., Aug. 30 -- President Bush decided today to cut short his month-long vacation and return to Washington to oversee the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, which cut a swath of devastation across the Gulf Coast states, killing dozens of people and leaving tens of thousands dislocated or without power.
Bush, who was here in California to make a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, planned to return to his ranch in Crawford, Tex., this evening, then depart for Washington on Wednesday morning, the White House announced. Bush originally had been scheduled to remain in Texas until Friday, which would have marked the longest stretch of time any president has spent away from Washington in decades, but advisers were sensitive to the image of a president vacationing amid the hurricane crisis.
This morning our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast who have suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina," Bush said at the top of his speech here at the U.S. Naval Air Station North Island.
Although he did not mention his change in plans, he said, "the federal, state and local governments are working side-by-side to do all we can to help people get back on their feet, and we have got a lot of work to do. Our teams and equipment are in place, and we're beginning to move in the help that people need."
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has formed a special interagency task force to coordinate and supplement the response to Katrina. The panel will include representatives from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Energy as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bush is scheduled to arrive back in Washington about 4 p.m. Wednesday and to meet right away with top administration officials to review response efforts, aides said. They added that although he will be traveling past the affected region en route back to the capital, he does not plan a stop to personally view the damage for fear of getting in the way, but will probably visit later in the week when the situation on the ground is more stable.
Bush has made no decision about releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease any shortages stemming from the shutdown of major refineries and other oil facilities located along the Gulf of Mexico because of the hurricane. The Energy Department has been considering tapping the reserve but has not made a recommendation, officials said.
The president's decision to cut short his vacation came as he delivered the latest of a series of speeches intended to fortify the American public for the continuing combat in Iraq. Speaking at a major military base near the docked USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Bush rhetorically linked the war in Iraq with the war against Japan and Germany six decades ago.
"Now as then they're trying to intimidate free people and break our will and now as then they will fail," Bush said to applauding sailors in white uniforms and Marines in camouflage. "They will fail because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of totalitarian ideology made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees." But, he added, "America will not run in defeat and we will not forget our responsibilities."
Joined by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Bush made a point of defending his oft-criticized Pentagon chief, calling him "a trusted adviser" and a "man doing an excellent job."
Reaching back into history, Bush repeatedly cited the steadfastness of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the model for today's conflict, comparing the Japanese sneak assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to the al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. Much as Roosevelt fought against the pre-Pearl Harbor isolation, Bush urged against a return to what he called the "pre-9/11 mindset of isolation and retreat."
Bush's August retreat has been shadowed by the war in Iraq as peace protesters set up camp near his ranch and negotiators in Baghdad struggled to produce a constitution that ultimately shut out leaders of the Sunni minority. Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who went to Crawford seeking a meeting with the president, had planned to end her vigil on Wednesday as well, but vowed to bring her antiwar message to Washington.
Now he decides to get back to work Bully for you
Georgie
Photos: Dramatic Rescues
May God watch over the people of the South from Down Under
President to Return to D.C. to Oversee Hurricane Response
By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, August 30, 2005; 4:57 PM
CORONADO, Calif., Aug. 30 -- President Bush decided today to cut short his month-long vacation and return to Washington to oversee the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, which cut a swath of devastation across the Gulf Coast states, killing dozens of people and leaving tens of thousands dislocated or without power.
Bush, who was here in California to make a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, planned to return to his ranch in Crawford, Tex., this evening, then depart for Washington on Wednesday morning, the White House announced. Bush originally had been scheduled to remain in Texas until Friday, which would have marked the longest stretch of time any president has spent away from Washington in decades, but advisers were sensitive to the image of a president vacationing amid the hurricane crisis.
This morning our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast who have suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina," Bush said at the top of his speech here at the U.S. Naval Air Station North Island.
Although he did not mention his change in plans, he said, "the federal, state and local governments are working side-by-side to do all we can to help people get back on their feet, and we have got a lot of work to do. Our teams and equipment are in place, and we're beginning to move in the help that people need."
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has formed a special interagency task force to coordinate and supplement the response to Katrina. The panel will include representatives from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Energy as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bush is scheduled to arrive back in Washington about 4 p.m. Wednesday and to meet right away with top administration officials to review response efforts, aides said. They added that although he will be traveling past the affected region en route back to the capital, he does not plan a stop to personally view the damage for fear of getting in the way, but will probably visit later in the week when the situation on the ground is more stable.
Bush has made no decision about releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease any shortages stemming from the shutdown of major refineries and other oil facilities located along the Gulf of Mexico because of the hurricane. The Energy Department has been considering tapping the reserve but has not made a recommendation, officials said.
The president's decision to cut short his vacation came as he delivered the latest of a series of speeches intended to fortify the American public for the continuing combat in Iraq. Speaking at a major military base near the docked USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Bush rhetorically linked the war in Iraq with the war against Japan and Germany six decades ago.
"Now as then they're trying to intimidate free people and break our will and now as then they will fail," Bush said to applauding sailors in white uniforms and Marines in camouflage. "They will fail because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of totalitarian ideology made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees." But, he added, "America will not run in defeat and we will not forget our responsibilities."
Joined by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Bush made a point of defending his oft-criticized Pentagon chief, calling him "a trusted adviser" and a "man doing an excellent job."
Reaching back into history, Bush repeatedly cited the steadfastness of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the model for today's conflict, comparing the Japanese sneak assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to the al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. Much as Roosevelt fought against the pre-Pearl Harbor isolation, Bush urged against a return to what he called the "pre-9/11 mindset of isolation and retreat."
Bush's August retreat has been shadowed by the war in Iraq as peace protesters set up camp near his ranch and negotiators in Baghdad struggled to produce a constitution that ultimately shut out leaders of the Sunni minority. Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who went to Crawford seeking a meeting with the president, had planned to end her vigil on Wednesday as well, but vowed to bring her antiwar message to Washington.
Now he decides to get back to work Bully for you
Georgie
Photos: Dramatic Rescues
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:38 PM
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