Political Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid - New York Times

By Aussiegirl

And here's the reality behind the fantasy scenario that I talked about in the post just below. Bush was damned if he did -- and damned if he didn't -- Naggin' Nagin and Governoress Blank-O were so paranoid about the Feds taking over that they were willing to let people die. And this still doesn't explain the reason that the Red Cross was not allowed to drop or deliver food, water and sanitary kits to the thousands of people stranded at the Superdome and the Convention Center for 5 days. People died without food and water -- and the mayor and governor are responsible for that. I personally think they should be tried for reckless manslaughter.

Political Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid - New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - As New Orleans descended into chaos last week and Louisiana's governor asked for 40,000 soldiers, President Bush's senior advisers debated whether the president should speed the arrival of active-duty troops by seizing control of the hurricane relief mission from the governor.

[...]To seize control of the mission, Mr. Bush would have had to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows the president in times of unrest to command active-duty forces into the states to perform law enforcement duties. But decision makers in Washington felt certain that Ms. Blanco would have resisted surrendering control, as Bush administration officials believe would have been required to deploy active-duty combat forces before law and order had been re-established.

While combat troops can conduct relief missions without the legal authority of the Insurrection Act, Pentagon and military officials say that no active-duty forces could have been sent into the chaos of New Orleans on Wednesday or Thursday without confronting law-and-order challenges.

But just as important to the administration were worries about the message that would have been sent by a president ousting a Southern governor of another party from command of her National Guard, according to administration, Pentagon and Justice Department officials.

"Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?" asked one senior administration official, who spoke anonymously because the talks were confidential.

Officials in Louisiana agree that the governor would not have given up control over National Guard troops in her state as would have been required to send large numbers of active-duty soldiers into the area. But they also say they were desperate and would have welcomed assistance by active-duty soldiers.