DHS' Chertoff: "We didn't plan for an A-bomb, either!"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: September 3, 2005 7:22:30 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: DHS' Chertoff: "We didn't plan for an A-bomb, either!"



Dave,

My subject line above paraphrases a bit, but in case you missed it,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made a
remarkable statement at a press conference today.  He was asked why
there had not been sufficient planning for a strong hurricane that
could cause failure of the New Orleans levee system.

After first characterizing the question as argumentative, he
appeared to plead that these two events were not reasonable to
associate for planning purposes -- a ludicrous assumption to most
observers.  And he noted that they hadn't planned for an atomic bomb
being added to the mix either.

Say what?  I was so startled by the bizarre A-bomb reference that I
had to replay it -- but there it was, and here it is -- play it for
yourself:

http://www.vortex.com/dhs-chertoff-2005-09-03.mp3

If Chertoff really believes that this is a valid comparison, then
at least some of the Katrina response failure is explained, and
we should all be even more concerned.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, EEPI
  - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com



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