"No one could have predicted . . ."

A recurring theme among the federal excuse-makers has been "no one could have predicted that the levees would break."

The facts are otherwise.

There was the Times-Picayune's award-winning five-part series on the threat of a catastrophic hurricane strike. Scientific American had an October 2001 article called "Drowning New Orleans" that covered this same scenario. National Public Radio had a two-part series in 2002 on the risks New Orleans faced due to flooding as a result of a hurricane strike.

There was also the eight-day, FEMA-sponsored disaster training session centered around a fictitious "Hurricane Pam."

So, indeed, many predicted this disaster. It was the failure to adequately plan a response that helped turn it into the catastrophe it has become.