Mike Brown AWOL (Absent Without Leadership)

In an extraordinary post-resignation hearing on Capitol Hill, former FEMA head Mike Brown claimed that his agency, designated by the President of the United States to organize the full force and resources of the federal government to respond to an emergency, was helpless to avert disaster in New Orleans because the mayor (of the 36th largest U.S. city) and governor (of the 24th largest state) were unprepared to deal with a category 5 hurricane bearing down on their shores.  

At last check, Brown was part of an Administration renowned for its self-proclaimed leadership capabilities and willingness to take bold action in the face of an urgent threat.  In its National Security Strategy, issued in 2002, this Administration asserted confidently that "preemptive action" must be taken to "counter a sufficient threat to our national security."  "The greater the threat," they claimed, "the greater is the risk of inaction."  The President personally opined in this Strategy document that "history will judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act." 

So what did Brown do to avert what he perceived to be a looming disaster that the state and local officials were not handling properly?  Did he advise the President of the United States that thousands of American citizens were at-risk of being killed and in dire need of help.  Did he advise the Governor to immediately request military assistance to evacuate the city?  Did recommend that the Secretary of Homeland Security designate Katrina an "incident of national significance," which would enable federal resources to be immediately deployed, under the direction of the President, regardless of whether they had been sought by state and local authorities. 

No, he did none of these things.  But he did come whimpering to Congress a month later, complaining that the Governor didn't take his phone calls and the mayor did not have a state of the art emergency operations center.  What a disgrace.