[Rodeo]

Here’s a short list of what I would expect from FEMA from someone NOT in the preparedness field:

I would expect both DHS and FEMA to have identified this plant in some fashion, long before the fire. If it’s the 461st threat on a list of 5,000 threats, I would expect that appropriate resources have been devoted to it, in accordance with its rank. New Orleans was on FEMA’s top 5 for years.

I would expect FEMA to have a manager responsible for that threat. Maybe the manager will be responsible for 10 threats in a 500 mile area, or maybe Anytown, U.S.A. is his only job, or maybe if the plant is big enough, he is assigned to that only. FEMA had a full-time, local presence in New Orleans. I don’t know its exact staffing but I suspect it was substantial.

I would expect that if DHS could not prevent the terrorist attack (and they can’t possibly prevent them all), that they would turn response over to FEMA, who would have the resources and skill to manage it as best they can.

I would expect the president to revise his schedule, cancel his vacation, fundraisers and photo-ops, and come back to Washington. I would expect the Vice President to do the same.

I would expect that long before the fifth day of the crisis, the respective directors of DHS and FEMA would know that there were thousands of starving people trapped in Anytown’s convention center, where armed bands of criminals were robbing, raping, and murdering them.

The list could go on for a long time, but I’m tired and I’m not in the emergency management business.