NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Michael Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, blames much of the post-Katrina chaos on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
But, Brown, who resigned his FEMA post Monday under intense criticism, raised questions about the White House response though he would not blame President Bush directly in an interview with The New York Times.
However, he suggested that Bush or his top aides were informed early and repeatedly by the top federal official at the scene that state and local authorities were overwhelmed and that the overall response was going badly.
Brown recalled that after Hurricane Katrina roared past New Orleans on Aug. 29, and the scale of the catastrophe became clear, he told his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, that Blanco and her staff were proving incapable of a coherent state effort.
He said his field officers in New Orleans were reporting an "out of control" situation and he was "having a horrible time."
