Faulty Levees Led to New Orleans Disaster

The Washington Post has published an article quoting experts who contend that the flooding in New Orleans was not caused by water topping levees but by poorly constructed, faulty levees. If true, Uncle Sam would bear ultimate responsibility. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Congress authorizes flood- control projects -- after receiving recommendations from the Corps -- and the Corps oversees their design and construction.

John M. Barry -- who criticized the Corps in "Rising Tide," a history of the Mississippi River flood of 1927 -- said that if Katrina did not exceed the design capacity of the New Orleans levees, the federal government may bear ultimate responsibility for this disaster.

"If this is true, then the loss of life and the devastation in much of New Orleans is no more a natural disaster than a surgeon killing a patient by failing to suture an artery would be a natural death," Barry said. "And that surgeon would be culpable."

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