In a remarkably candid interview this week with HDNet "World Report" anchor Greg Dobbs, former FEMA Director Michael Brown reportedly provides a comprehensive explanation as to exactly what went wrong (from his perspective) and who the now-dismissed agency director believes is truly to blame for the government's disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina.
"If the White House gives anybody the impression that they were taken by surprise, they are full of you-know-what," said a once-tight-lipped Brown. "For anyone to now say, 'Well, we didn't know it could be that bad,' they're lying."
Brown said in retrospect, when the Bush administration put alleged limits on the scale of the federal response, he should have told the Secretary of Homeland Security "screw you," and he should have told everybody, including the President, "bite me," according to HDNet's version of the interview.
The comments, candid even coming from a disgruntled former official, seem to highlight the residual animosity held by both private citizens and public officials towards Washington as a result of Katrina. The interview with Dobbs on HDNet's "World Report" was aired as a special edition Tuesday night, April 11 (and could make the rounds of various other news programs for at least the remainder of the week).
HDNet is the all-HD cable channel co-founded by Mark Cuban and Philip Garvin, and typically features a dozen or more hours of original HD programming weekly, all produced in 1080i.
