The Commander in Chief Is in Command

As New York City's police commissioner, I oversaw the NYPD’s response, rescue, recovery, and investigation to the attacks on September 11, 2001. Since then, I have studied how the government has responded to subsequent crises, man-made and natural. Mostly, I’m not impressed.

There are thousands of issues that are critical in handling a disaster like Harvey. But nothing is more important than the president having his finger on the pulse, ensuring every resource is made available to minimize damage and casualties.

By all accounts, including the words of the governors of Texas and Louisiana, President Donald Trump has been deeply involved – even prior to the storm actually hitting land.

The president infused the appropriate federal agencies from the outset and is not only being updated by staff around the clock, but it is continually communicating with the governors to ensure them that they're getting whatever resources they need.

Gov. John Edwards of Louisiana has said that the president called him back on Aug. 24 out of concern, and wanted to make sure that any request for assistance from the federal government were being met. The governor said FEMA had been particularly responsive to Louisiana's requests. If anyone knows and understands how important that is, it's Gov. Edwards, who's state suffered greatly during Katrina.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the government's response to Texas by saying, "I've got to tell you, I give FEMA a grade of A+, all the way from the president down."

What a contrast to Katrina.

In the aftermath of that hurricane, most of the criticism came from the state’s failure to prepare for the storm. It had at least five days’ notice that the levees would not hold and yet still suffered catastrophic losses, many of which could have been avoided had they had better planning and preparation.

The personal and economic repercussions from Harvey for Louisiana and Texas will be felt for years to come, and the losses will be catastrophic. We cannot control mother nature. However, when things like this happen, there's nothing more imperative than the people in charge doing their job, and doing it well.

This isn't about politics, it's about life and death. It's about the destruction of people's households and lives, and it's about their ability to rebuild.

I've never been more impressed with the resilience of the American people in the aftermath of tragedy, then I was in the aftermath of 9/11. The greater the leadership and motivation and inspiration by our political leaders, the more resilient America becomes.

In this case, we must give credit where credit is due, and commend Governors Edwards and Abbott for their leadership, the first responders from Louisiana and Texas and all over the country, as well as President Trump, for leading the charge and ensuring the best response possible to a dangerous, catastrophic, and deadly situation.

God bless them all.

Bernard Kerik is a former New York City police commissioner and was in command of the NYPD during the attacks on America on 9/11.