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After Tour of Biloxi, President Bush Comments on Storm Damage

Aired September 02, 2005 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And while I'm sitting here talking about the troops on the ground, right there near the convention center, our Barbara Starr, as we've been telling you, our Pentagon correspondent, has been traveling with General Honore, as he landed in New Orleans today, and Barbara is making her way not far from where these troops are on the ground.
Barbara, tell us what you can see. Can you assess the situation and tell us if you think it's changed from the pictures that you saw yesterday.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, things are moving very, very rapidly. We are outside the convention center. You may be able to overhear the helicopters overhead. And within the last few minutes, dozens and dozens of large cargo trucks carrying food, water, other supplies, piles and piles of it, are now moving towards the convention center. This long-awaited convoy of relief supplies for the people who desperately are in need inside the convention center is now moving.

We are with General Honore out on the street, and it continues as we have seen it with him earlier today. This three-star Army general is basically on the streets of New Orleans, directing this military relief convoy operation. I can tell you, he continues to go up and down the line, telling these National Guard soldiers to point their weapons down, to sling them over their back. He is becoming quite adamant in ordering them to do this. He tells them, this is not Iraq, that they are part of a humanitarian-relief convoy.

From where I am standing just outside the convention center, I can't even begin to count the number of trucks that are now moving in. They want to get word to people inside the convention center that the relief convoy is under way. They are taking a number of steps to try and ensure security, to try and ensure that there is no panic, and even to ensure, they tell us, that some of the people in a weakened state inside the convention center get what they need, that they, you know, will not be overtaken by perhaps people who are in stronger shape.

General Honore also is now planning the medical evacuation, possibly by boat or helicopter, of some of the people in the convention center who need medical attention, but from our vantage point here on the streets of New Orleans, just outside the convention center, there are about a thousand National Guard troops, we are told, moving in, carrying these supplies to these people at the convention center, and this certainly now is expect -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara, can you still hear me.

STARR: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, great. I lost you there just for a second.

Two questions I want to ask you. Yesterday, of course, some of the most dramatic and disturbing pictures came from the convention center, where we saw, for the first time, dead bodies lying on the street, even a grandmother hunched over dead in her wheelchair, and I think that is what really set people off, just the frustration and the emotion. And now we're seeing this massive military response. Can you tell me if people are still dying as we speak, and if indeed Honore's men and women will tend to the dead, as well, and respectfully...

STARR: I think we must assume that people are dying, Kyra. There is no question, the situation on the streets of New Orleans is very, very dire. There is nothing to indicate that those who are left behind, they are getting some attention, but from (INAUDIBLE), a woman, an elderly woman. Right now, I am looking across the street, and is being carried, possibly overcome by the (INAUDIBLE). Relief workers are trying to get to her. It appears that her relatives are carrying her. It's very hot here. (INAUDIBLE) only (INAUDIBLE). As I am (INAUDIBLE). There's people over there (INAUDIBLE) being carried. It is just (INAUDIBLE)...

PHILLIPS: Barbara, I think I lost you. Can you still hear me? It's cutting in and out. Can you still hear me?

STARR: I can. We've got helicopters flying overhead.

PHILLIPS: OK, I think we did lose her.

As you know, Barbara Starr, Pentagon correspondent is traveling with General Honore, the man that's leading this humanitarian part of the mission to respond to those desperate individuals in New Orleans, Louisiana. These are his men and women in these amphibious vehicles bringing in supplies, food, water. You can see the dozens and dozens of buses lined up to get those victims out of New Orleans city, and Barbara comes to us via sat phone, so every now and then we lose that signal. We'll try and get her back.

But basically, in an area where people felt nobody was able to lead people in this city, nobody -- people didn't know where to go yesterday. They were frustrated. They were chanting for help. We saw the people dying on the streets. It has not gotten any better. The only good news to report is right now we're seeing finally troops on the ground bringing in supplies and General Honore taking charge, directing his men and women to do exactly what he wants them to do, with regard to getting these people out of New Orleans, getting people fed, getting fresh water to them and trying to prevent more deaths.

We don't even know what the number is right now. I mean, you look at numbers coming from the Department of Homeland Security, and the latest number I received on a press release, 4,500 lives saved. That's incredible, that 4,500 lives have been saved. But you look at the tens of thousands of people still that are there and so desperate, and we don't even know how many people have died yet in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The number no doubt will be staggering, if, indeed, we can even come to a solid number.

Once again, you're seeing video now of the troops on the ground in New Orleans, Louisiana.

We'll continue to keep in touch with Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, side by side with the man who is bringing the troops in and trying desperately to save lives. The number one priority in this mission is to save lives. No doubt that will happen now that help is there.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, that's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My boyfriend was stuck in the house. They said the water was up to over here.

BUSH: Your boyfriend?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I couldn't find him for four days. I thought he was dead, and we were going to go to the Red Cross to find him, but he came to my mother's house yesterday.

BUSH: That's good news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my son, I had to take my son to Alabama because we had nowhere to go.

BUSH: I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I came here looking for clothes.

BUSH: Well, they'll get you some clothes that the Salvation Army's sending (INAUDIBLE).

PHILLIPS: The president of the United States, there in Biloxi, Mississippi. This is actually taped turnaround. He started off in Alabama, made his way here to Biloxi, where he's been walking through the neighborhoods and talking with those who have lost everything. And they're telling him their personal stories and asking when help is going to come and what he's going to do about it.

So he's talking with those in Biloxi. He's now en route to New Orleans, Louisiana. It's very possible that he might be there already. But we are expecting him to step in front of the cameras and we'll bring that to you as soon as it happens. Now an update on the massive gaps along the New Orleans levees and what, if any, progress is being made to stem the deadly tide from Lake Pontchartrain. Just a short time ago, Lieutenant General Carl Strock, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, told reporters that water levels in this city have stabilized. But it will certainly take weeks before New Orleans can be drained. Strock says that putting breaches in the levee on the Lake Pontchartrain's side would let gravity help move some of that water out of the city. He also said the agency is studying the construction of new levees that can endure a Category 4 or 5 storm down the road.

Well, while the immediate concern in New Orleans is focussed on rescue, there is also plenty recrimination that this levee crisis has been brewing for years. In 2002, the "New Orleans Times-Picayune" ran a five-part special series called "Washing Away." The articles laid out the threats New Orleans faced if it were to be hit by a Category 4 hurricane, even a Category 5, and it foretold exactly what we are seeing right now.

Bill Walsh is a "Times-Picayune" reporter. He's based in Washington. He joins us now. Good to see you, Bill.

BILL WALSH, "TIMES-PICAYUNE": Good to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what. I read all these reports, in addition to so many articles that you and a number of reporters have been writing about for years.

And I just want to start with this quote. We've been hearing a lot from Senator Mary Landrieu. And it was back in 2000 -- well, just a -- not far back, a few months ago. She said, "We could have lost 100,000 lives had Hurricane Ivan hit the mouth of the Mississippi River before it turned."

She continued, saying --- talking about, "God has been good, but one of these days a hurricane is going to come and if we don't get projects finished, we're sitting ducks." This is something that politicians have known is a problem for decades.

WALSH: Well, that's true and they haven't kept it to themselves. The Louisiana Congressional Delegation in Washington has been beating this drum for years. The comment that you just read from Senator Landrieu could have very well come out of the mouths of any members of the delegation, the governor, local officials. They've been raising concerns about the vulnerability of the city and trying to make their case in Washington, with very limited success.

PHILLIPS: Going on to another part of another article, another quote I want to read. And this one just took my breath away. This was the director of New Orleans Office of Emergency Preparedness.

It was a quote in one of the articles by your paper. "We think we're going to do our people a terrible disservice if we don't tell them the truth, and the truth is that when it happens, a lot of people are going to die. Those who remain should not expect to find safe shelter. Few buildings in the area can withstand the forces of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. We don't have the structures that can handle wind and water and those velocities and at that water height."

It is unbelievable that all of you wrote about this and we are looking at what you wrote about.

WALSH: Yes. I mean, it's really been no secret. I mean, the city is so vulnerable to the hurricanes that swirl out in the Gulf of Mexico every year. It's a pretty dire few months for people who live there. And the city has been waiting for years for the worst case scenario to happen. The trick and the difficulty has been impressing upon Washington the eventuality of what could happen. And now, of course, we're seeing it. And it's probably early to begin pointing fingers, because the rescue is still going on. But I don't think anyone in Washington can say now that they didn't see this coming.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bill, I want you to hold on with me just for a moment, OK?

WALSH: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Bill Walsh is with the "Times-Picayune." Stay with me, Bill, because we're going to listen to some comments from the president. As you know, you've been following, too -- the president started off in Alabama to visit those that are living there and have received or have been suffering because of Hurricane Katrina. This is videotape. He left Alabama and then came to Biloxi, Mississippi. He's been touring through the neighborhoods and talking to the people there that have lost everything. Let's listen in for a moment.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... I'm proud to be here with the mayor of Biloxi. The reason I'm proud to be here with him and with the governor and the senators is because, in spite of this terrible tragedy, their spirits are high.

It's hard to describe the devastation that we have just walked through. I just talked to a fellow who was raised in the house that used to be, and he's got rubble surrounding him. And I said, "You doing all right?" And he said, "I'm doing fine: I'm alive. And my mother's alive."

I talked to a fellow who runs a wrecking service -- I think it's a wrecking service. He said, "I witnessed Camille. We went through Camille and we'll go through this storm, Katrina."

You know, there's a lot of sadness, of course, but there's also a spirit here in Mississippi that is uplifting.

I want to thank the governor for his strong leadership. He set some clear parameters and has followed through on helping calm everybody's nerves.

I want to thank the mayor.

Neither of them asked for this when they got elected. Now they're called upon to help solve the problem. And I've down here, one, to take a look at the damage firsthand, and I'm telling you, it's worse than imaginable.

And secondly to tell the good people of this part of the world that the federal government is going to help.

The first job is to save lives. And earlier today had a chance to meet with some chopper drivers, guys dangling off of cables that are pulling people out of harm's way.

BUSH: And I want to thank them for their hard work.

We're going to stabilize the situation and then get food and medicine and water.

I traveled today with the head of the Red Cross and Salvation Army. And the people here are going to see compassion pour in here. There's a lot of folks in America that want to help.

If you want to help, give cash to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. We can ask for other help later on.

But right now, we need to get food and clothes and medicine to the people, and we'll do so. And one of the main delivery systems will be the armies of compassion.

And we're going to clean all this mess up. The federal government will spend money to clean it up. The first downpayment will be signed tonight by me as a result of the good work of the Senate and the House, $10.5 billion. But that's just the beginning.

But the people have got to understand that out of this rubble is going to come a new Biloxi, Mississippi. It's hard to envision it right now.

When you stand in the midst of all that rubble, it's hard to think about a new city. But when you talk to folks that have been through Camille and have seen what happens and you listen to the spirit of people, you realize, Mr. Mayor, that after a lot of hard work, people will be proud of the effort.

And I want to thank you for your leadership here.

And, Haley, I want to thank you for yours. Again, I want to thank (inaudible). They're going to be very important members of the -- they are important members of the Senate and they're going to be an important part of this making sure that we fund this recovery effort.

I'll answer a couple of questions and then I'm going to...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, the people of this city...

QUESTION: (inaudible) the vastness of this destruction? BUSH: I don't think anybody can be prepared for the vastness of this destruction. You an look at a picture but until you sit on that doorstep of a house that used to be here or stand by the rubble, you just can't imagine it.

And we took a low chopper ride from here -- to here and we're going to take it on over to New Orleans, here, and the destruction is unbelievable. And it's destruction on the coast and it's destruction off the coast. And we got a lot of work to do.

QUESTION: One of the things you hear here is people saying a lot of resources being devoted to Iraq; now this country needs them. And they're frustrated about that.

What do you say to the people who say there's too much money being spent on Iraq and it's time to bring it home?

BUSH: I just completely disagree. We've got a job to defend this country in the war on terror, and we've got a job to bring aid and comfort to the people of the Gulf Coast, and we'll do both.

BUSH: We've got plenty of resources to do both.

Somebody questioned me the other day about: Do we have enough National Guard troops? Of course, we do. These governors have got compacts with other states. If they need to call upon another state, the state will send Guard troops.

And the people just got to know, we've got what it takes to do more than one thing. And we'll secure our country from the terrorists and we'll help rebuild this part of the world.

QUESTION: This morning you said that the results are not acceptable. What specifically were you talking about?

BUSH: Well, I'm talking about the fact that we don't have enough security in New Orleans yet.

Results are acceptable here in Mississippi. You know, the results are acceptable in New Orleans when it comes to the hard work of the Coast Guard. But we need to get troops. We had 1,200 troops arrive yesterday, I'm told. We're going to have 1,200 today, 1,200 more.

These are troops especially trained for military police work. They need to get in there. They need to stabilize that situation. They need to make sure that the food and medicine that is in place is given to the people that need the food and medicine.

I got a good report today about food and medicine getting to people that weren't getting it, but we'll find out if it's true when we get to New Orleans.

You know, this is a huge task that we're dealing with. And our jobs as people in positions of responsibility is not to be satisfied until the job is done as good as it can possibly be done.

And that's what I was referring to. I'm certainly not denigrating the efforts of anybody but the results can be better in New Orleans. And I intend to work with the folks to make it better.

And, again, in Mississippi, we got a different situation. We've got a Guard that is in place, activated. Haley made some clear rules and is following through on them.

But the task in both places, the tasks are enormous, and it's going to take a while. Our fellow citizens must understand that we're talking years.

Now, we're not talking years to get people rescued. We're talking days. And we're not talking years to get infrastructure back up here. You know, we're talking weeks to get the electricity running.

BUSH: I've got some good news on the pipeline, the Colonial Pipeline. We thought it would be at 47 percent capacity; at least I was briefed that yesterday. I'm told it's going to be significantly more than that, which is good news.

It means that one of the problem areas that Haley was talking to me about -- and the mayor -- was: How do you get fuel to these communities? And obviously, the more fuel going through pipelines, the more fuel will be available not only here in the affected areas but up and down the southeast of the country.

And, listen, we're going to have a problem this weekend when it comes to gasoline, just like they've got a problem here.

But we're addressing it. The EPA suspended rules so that we could use -- which attracted -- suspended rules for types of gasoline, which attracted fuel from overseas. That's good.

We're swapping oil out of the SPR. We're making sure that there's oil to be processed in the refineries. They're working hard to get these ports open.

Trent was telling me that we've got to get that port of Pascagoula open so we can get ships of foreign crude oil to the refinery.

And, you know, we've just got a lot of work to do. The good news is we know what we're going to do and we're going to get it done.

QUESTION: You talk about fixing what's wrong and you talk about the results not being accessible, but there are a lot of people wondering why you weren't fixing the problems yesterday or the day before and why the richest country on earth can't get food and water to those people that need it.

BUSH: The levees broke on Tuesday in New Orleans. On Wednesday and Thursday we started evacuating people. A lot of people have left that city. A lot of people have been pulled out on buses.

I am satisfied with the response. I'm not satisfied with all the results. They started pulling people off of roofs immediately. We started rallying choppers to get people off rooftops, start saving lives. I mean, thousands of peoples' lives have been saved immediately.

And that's good news. This is one of the worst storms in our nation's history. New Orleans got hit by two storms; one, the hurricane and then the flood. And it's going to take a monumental effort to continue moving forward, but we will.

And this is a nation that has done a lot of big things before, and this is going to be one of the biggest, which is to recover from one of the worst storms -- if not the worst storm; Haley called it the worst, I'm calling it one of the worst storms -- in the nation's history.

QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you for coming.

QUESTION: We appreciate it very much.

There's a need for immediate housing and long-term housing. Many people right now have no shelter. And on top of that, many people do not have flood insurance. They never expected a tidal surge of this magnitude.

What can you say about housing efforts?

BUSH: Well, I appreciate that. FEMA will be providing a lot of temporary housing. And that's one of the responsibilities that FEMA assumes, to find shelter for people. And in terms of the longer term, the government has got the capacity to make low-interest loans and help businesses get back going.

And there will be a -- again, once the situation gets stabilized, there will be the appropriate authorities here to start passing out the forms necessary for people to apply for the relief and the help they can get.

But the federal government will be providing the temporary housing.

QUESTION: Mr. President, I realize the first priority is obviously saving lives. But let me ask you about long-term planning in New Orleans. There are some who are starting to say that since we're going to be spending billions in tax dollars to rebuild that great city that we might want to think about building it in such a way where it's not below sea level again, whether it's somehow moved around or relocated or moved up.

What are your thoughts on that?

BUSH: My thoughts are, we're going to get somebody who knows what they're talking about when it comes to rebuilding cities. I'm going to delegate. I'm going to call upon the best experts, starting with the people in New Orleans, and get opinions as we work with the local folks.

We're going to help people rebuild. That's what we're going to do. And we're going to listen to people who know what they're doing. But my objective now, of course, is to save lives and get people out of New Orleans. And make sure that those who are out of New Orleans and in New Orleans get food and help. Just like in Mississippi -- Mississippi people have got to understand that I know a lot of the focus is on New Orleans, but I'm thinking about Mississippi as well. I'm not only thinking about coastal Mississippi. I'm thinking about rural Mississippi, places in this part of the state that are remote and don't have electricity.

And they've just got to know that the governor talked to me about it and I listened very carefully about the problems facing these good folks. And one of the things we're going to concentrate on is getting these electric plans up and running and getting the power to the people so they can have the electricity necessary to live a more normal life.

BUSH: These are tough times. This is a storm the likes of which, you know, I pray I never see again. It's a storm the likes of which the people have been through Camille -- they said, you know, "Camille was terrible. We're never going to see anything like Camille again." Camille was in '69. And a guy said, you know, "We felt safe here in this part of the neighborhood, because Camille didn't hit it." And, sure enough, we witnessed a storm worse than Camille.

And, again, I want to thank all the people that are working hard. We've seen line crews. We've seen firefighters from around the country. People around here are going to be amazed at the compassion that pours into this community.

First things first: We got to make them safe.

Mr. Mayor, again, thank you for your hospitality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.

BUSH: Thank you for your compassion.

Governor, thanks for your leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for your help.

BUSH: Thank you all.

PHILLIPS: The president of the United States there in Biloxi, Mississippi, alongside Mississippi's governor, Biloxi's mayor, also Senator Trent Lott, who lost his home in Pascagoula, going through the neighborhoods there to meet with the people that lost everything. And once again, saying that help is on the way.

Now, grab a pen or piece of paper. We're going to give you some phone numbers to jot down if you still want to donate to the various victims of Hurricane Katrina. Grab a pen and paper. Here are the phone numbers.

Meanwhile, we're just getting word that Congress approved $10.5 billion in hurricane relief aid; $10 billion will go to FEMA, 500 million will go to the Pentagon. The House just passed this bill for the hurricane victims. The president has said he will sign it tonight.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

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