Hurricane Katrina Death Toll "Worse Than Iraq, Worse Than 9/11"
American Citizens "Murdered By Bureaucracy"
By Darryl Mason
The president of Hurricane Katrina-shattered Jefferson Parish has infuriated White House officials by revealing the true scope of the Hurricane Katrina death toll, before President Bush has finished preparing the US for the very, very worst.
Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard broke down on US television on Sunday, as he recounted how a colleague had reassured his mother by phone she would be rescued for five days before she finally drowned, alone, trapped in her home. Broussard's words have now been replayed around the world and seen by an estimated one billion people.
His words and truth have shattered the thickening fog of disinformation and tragedy-spin, and yesterday he told New Orleans TV station WWL that a close estimate of the true human toll of Hurricane Katrina is already known by officials but the numbers are being concealed due to the horrific volume of dead Americans involved. He alleged the death toll revealed so far of "thousands" is a lie.
"They're keeping the body counts down because they don't want to horrify the nation. It's worse than Iraq, it's worse than 911."
In New Orleans and Jefferson Parish some police and recovery crews are telling journalists more people may have died in the days after the hurricane, from drowning, exposure and dehydration, than in the actual hurricane itself.
Broussard said American citizens had been "murdered by bureaucracy". He knows what the secret official death toll is but he refused to reveal the true figures stating "I won't horrify the nation."
It will be unlikely that anyone from the Bush administration will make the official statement on the true toll. More likely the numbers will grow over the next week, allowing people to get their head around first "thousands" then perhaps "tens of thousands", if the toll does indeed grow that large.
This slow release of the true tragedy began the day after Hurricane Katrina slaughtered its way through three states. First it was 50, then 60, then 120, then 150, then "hundreds", then "possibly thousands".
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin revealed over the weekend he believes the toll for the New Orleans area alone will be 10,000.
