Katrina Coverage

From Bush Adviser Acknowledges Lack of Preparation for Katrina:

White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend acknowledged yesterday that the government failed to prepare adequately for the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, noting studies of New Orleans's vulnerability to flooding and lessons from flawed U.S. responses to past natural and terrorist disasters.

Discussing the administration's internal inquiry into the response to the Aug. 29 hurricane at length for the first time, Townsend told reporters that the broad review she is leading is incomplete but that some initial findings are clear. U.S. officials thought before Katrina's arrival that "we were appropriately positioned and we had the right mechanisms in place," but the long-feared rupture of the New Orleans levee system and the inundation of the sub-sea-level city belied such confidence, she said.

And, trying to keep Team Bush together and behind Our Leader:

"It's clear we want to quickly identify and fix problems and not play a blame game. . . . Lessons are what the president wants, not finger-pointing… He is less interested in last time. . . . His concern is with the next time."

And:

Townsend's remarks signaled a change from the administration's early blaming of New Orleans and Louisiana officials for the Katrina failures, and from Bush's early statement that "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."

"There were prior [congressional] reports about emergency preparedness and response. There have been a number of studies," Townsend said, citing a 2004 FEMA planning scenario that considered what would happen if a major cyclone hit and flooded New Orleans. "If there were lessons that should have been taken from that, why weren't they?"

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