The Back-Channel Chatter After Katrina

摘要

At 9 P.M. on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, FEMA Director Michael Brown appeared on "Larry King live" and announced, "This is a catastrophic disaster ... We've got some storm surges that have come across the levees." Less than an hour later, at 9:51, Brown received an e-mail from White House chief of staff Andy Card, who told him he had been kept 'Veil-informed about your reports. Any-thing you want me to do??" Brown replied, "Thanks for writing, Andy. This is a bad one. Housing, transportation and environment could be long term issues."