Editorial: Dysfunction began at the top

Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 | 12:31 p.m.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a Senate committee Wednesday that he should never have sent former FEMA director Michael Brown to the Gulf Coast to oversee relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There is more to this obvious statement than hindsight, however. Chertoff testified that he had not known how deeply Brown had resented him and his department.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Chertoff that investing such responsibility in the now-ousted Brown was "one of your biggest mistakes" in reaction to the devastating hurricane in which more than 1,300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless.

"If I had known then what I know now about Mr. Brown's agenda, I would have done something differently," Chertoff answered. "My perception was at the time Mr. Brown may not have been aware of (all the resources at his disposal). Maybe now (I realize) he didn't want to use them."

Appearing before the same committee last Friday, Brown had spoken of his displeasure that had been festering since 2003, when his Federal Emergency Management Agency was absorbed into Chertoff's Homeland Security Department. Brown testified that decisions by the larger department had put his agency on a "path to failure" and that keeping Chertoff informed of Katrina's developments would have been "wasting my time."

In our view, Chertoff was negligent in not having fully perceived the attitude Brown had developed. An agency as critical as FEMA cannot have a malcontent at its helm. Chertoff testified he did meet with Brown and extracted a promise of cooperation. But he failed to sense that the promise was hollow. A more aware leader would have fired Brown and replaced him with someone much more competent and conscientious.

The Senate committee's report is scheduled for release next month. And a Katrina report by a House committee was released as Chertoff was testifying on Wednesday. Among its findings was that Chertoff failed to convene emergency response managers in the days before Katrina struck, so that a coordinated rescue could have been readied.

We expect that when both reports are compared, Brown's bad attitude and Chertoff's failed leadership will be at the heart of the federal government's tragic response to Hurricane Katrina.