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Bush wants military to lead disaster help Wire Reports | February 23 2006 WASHINGTON - The White House is scheduled to release a report today calling for the military to be more closely involved in handling large natural disasters as part of a plan to improve the government's emergency response operations, which were exposed as fatally flawed after Hurricane Katrina. President Bush ordered the report after harsh criticism of the government's sluggish response to the disaster, which killed more than 1,300 and devastated much of the Gulf Coast. Led by White House Homeland Security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, the report also is expected to call for strengthening mandatory evacuation policies and ensuring that the Federal Emergency Management Agency works more closely with governors and other local officials, according to previews of the document offered by administration officials. The report includes a proposal that would make homeland security preparation a priority for the National Guard and Reserves and calls for positioning emergency equipment before a catastrophe. President Bush is expected to discuss the recommendations at a Cabinet meeting today, officials said. The report does not provide a cost estimate, which some analysts said would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. "This is a 'lessons-learned' review, and that will come later," said Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman. The report does not call for any resignations, despite recent demands -- mostly by Democrats -- for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to step down. The report recommends keeping FEMA under Chertoff's control, according to a Bush administration official. The report discusses some of the key problems that came to light after Katrina: faulty or nonexistent emergency communications, inadequate food and medical supplies, and poor coordination among local, state and federal officials. Townsend's report, portions of which were reviewed by The Baltimore Sun, recommends that the Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department develop plans for a "significant support role" in the event of a catastrophic event and create standards for the pre-positioning of emergency items, such as communications equipment, food and medical supplies. In addition, the report recommends that the National Guard and Reserve forces modify their organization and training to make homeland security their "priority mission." The Pentagon should consider "fully resourcing" the National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters, the report said. Three years ago, each state set up such a headquarters but in many cases they lack the needed computers and communications equipment, officials said. James Jay Carafano, a homeland security analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, said requiring the Guard and Reserve to focus on homeland security makes sense since they are stationed in each state and can respond quickly to disasters. However, he said, the part-time forces still must be "dual use," able to respond to overseas missions as well. IN THE KNOW Some recommendations expected in the White House report on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina: The Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department develop plans for a "significant support role" in the event of a catastrophic event and create standards for the pre-positioning of emergency items such as equipment, food and medical supplies. The National Guard and Reserve modify their organization and training to make homeland security their "priority mission." ---------------------------------------------------
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