Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, commander of the federal Joint Task Force Katrina, with Vice President Dick Cheney aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, September 8, 2005. Behind Honoré’s back, Cheney’s counsel, David Addington, prepared a statement to enable the president to declare an “insurrection” in New Orleans, with a forcible federal takeover. At the eleventh hour, Bush declined to force Louisiana to submit, lacking the military’s support. (US Navy)