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Bush urges larger role for military.

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to head off a replay of Hurricane Katrina foul-ups, President George W. Bush yesterday called on Congress to consider giving the U.S. military a leading role in recovery efforts in a catastrophic natural disaster or terrorist attack, a break with precedent sure to spark controversy.

Bush signaled that he believed there might be natural disasters or terrorist attacks so vast and destructive that they would require the Pentagon to take the lead in rescue and recovery efforts, a job that now goes mainly to state governors who dispatch National Guard troops, assisted by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

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Bush urges larger role for military.

BY CRAIG GORDON
WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to head off a replay of Hurricane Katrina foul-ups, President George W. Bush yesterday called on Congress to consider giving the U.S. military a leading role in recovery efforts in a catastrophic natural disaster or terrorist attack, a break with precedent sure to spark controversy.

Bush wrapped up a weekend-long Hurricane Rita-watch tour in Colorado and Texas. In San Antonio yesterday, he heard a two-star general call the Katrina rescue efforts a "train wreck" of failed coordination and communications, one that could be improved with a national response plan.

Bush signaled that he believed there might be natural disasters or terrorist attacks so vast and destructive that they would require the Pentagon to take the lead in rescue and recovery efforts, a job that now goes mainly to state governors who dispatch National Guard troops, assisted by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

"That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about," Bush said.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Bush, in recent days, has talked about the need for "a trigger" that comes into play during a massive event when, as during Katrina, the traditional structure of state and local first-responders becomes overwhelmed and the federal government needs to step in with its massive resources.

"The president's talking about considering a situation where you need a clear line of authority," McClellan said. "And it's the Department of Defense that has the capability to do that ... to be able to do it quickly for the initial time period you need to stabilize the situation."

During Katrina, the White House was frustrated that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco resisted the call to "federalize" the troops in New Orleans under a single commander, and some Republicans have grumbled that it was Blanco's poor handling of the initial National Guard response that allowed conditions there to deteriorate, a situation that has helped push Bush to his lowest approval ratings yet.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld already is studying whether the Pentagon should have a broader role in future disasters. One senior defense official yesterday pointed toward the example cited by the two-star general, Maj. Gen. John White, of five helicopters converging to rescue one person in New Orleans as the kind of situation where the Pentagon might be able to take a stronger role in coordinating efforts.

Still, any move to put more U.S. military control over disaster response is sure to prove controversial, both to state officials who now run the National Guard troops usually involved in those operations, but also to conservatives in Bush's party suspicious of federal trampling on state's rights.

Some military experts also believe resistance is likely to come from inside the Pentagon itself, already stretched by war in Iraq and Afghanistan and not looking to add more missions to its plate.

"There is a clear difference between disaster relief operations and warfare. Our armed forces are designed to protect us from enemies, not protect us from fires, floods and hurricanes," said retired Maj. Gen. Bruce Lawlor, who once headed the Pentagon civil support unit and later served as chief of staff to then-Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge.

In addition, such a move might require an amendment to a Civil-War-era law known as Posse Comitatus that bars armed forces from engaging in law-enforcement activities inside the United States except in extreme circumstances.

At least one leading conservative in Congress, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), signaled yesterday he would be uncomfortable with any significant expansion of the federal role that didn't allow local fire and rescue crews to be in charge.

"I don't want the federal government to take over disaster response, believe me," DeLay told The Associated Press. Why? "Bureaucracy. Bureaucracy. Bureaucracy," he said.

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.