Critics Predict Katrina Whitewash

U.S. President George W. Bush's appointment of his own homeland security advisor to head a White House investigation of what went wrong with the government's Hurricane Katrina response and how to fix it is being greeted with some scepticism by emergency preparedness and response experts.

These authorities, many of whom spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity, point out that the president's advisor, Frances Townsend, has little experience in emergency preparedness and response. She is a former prosecutor whose recent background is in terrorism-related intelligence.

They also expressed doubt that anyone in the executive branch of government could produce an objective assessment of itself.

"The idea that anyone in the White House might produce a report that embarrasses the president or holds people accountable is just naïve," one source told IPS.