From Scout:

We hate to risk confusion but given the seriousness of what occurred yesterday we must. The Army Corps of Engineers finally admitted to Congress yesterday that it was their design failure that caused the 17th Street Canal levee break. Therefore we are suggesting a different message to George in the Beads to Bush campaign….Take Responsibility and Set Aside the Necessary Funds for Levee Construction. Here is why. First the Corps belated confessions…..

WASHINGTON — In the closest thing yet to a mea culpa, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged Wednesday that a “design failure” led to the breach of the 17th Street canal levee that flooded much of the city during Hurricane Katrina.

Lt. General Carl Strock told a Senate committee that the corps neglected to consider the possibility that floodwalls atop the 17th Street Canal levee would lurch away from their footings under significant water pressure and eat away at the earthen barriers below.

SNIP

He said the corps is in the process of evaluating all the levees to see if they, too, could fail in the same way.

There is more. As for the $6 Billion needed to rebuild the levees?

Under questioning from Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, Strock also told the committee that the stunning $6 billion increase in the price of levee protection announced last week was prompted by a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to certify the levees to national flood insurance standards

SNIP

“Six billion dollars was our preliminary estimate,” Strock said. “That number should come down somewhat.”

The general, however, could not say when he might be able to fine-tune the estimate. Timing is critical because the Bush administration is evaluating how much money to request from Congress for additional levee repairs. Without a White House request, FEMA says it can’t release flood maps that tell people whether it is safe to rebuild or not.

Is it any wonder that New Orleanians do not trust the Army Corps of Engineers. Their design failed resulting in Katrina being a man made disaster not a natural one. Everyone suspected as much as independent evidence pointed to that. Additionally it is clear the FEMA maps have been held up by the Army Corps which in turn has held up reconstruction. How much of taxpayers money has been wasted as a result? How much additional hardship have New Orleanians endured waiting in hotels, tents and trailers as a result? And what damage has been done to the general reconstruction of NOLA as a result?

The non-partisan non-sectarian grassroots group, Levees.org has given us this statement regarding levee failures…..

The US Army Corps of Engineers has admitted to a “design failure” that led to the breach of the 17th Street Canal levee that flooded much of the city on August 29, 2005. This is the tip of the iceberg, and more design flaws will surface. It is time that Congress acknowledge the Corps’ failure to protect the citizens of Louisiana, and it is high time that Congress got serious about Flood Protection and set aside the necessary funds for reconstruction.

We would agree.

Given the admissions by the Army Corps of engineers of fault and their own uncertainty regarding the amount necessary to rebuild the levees we are therefore suggesting the following message to send with your Beads for Bush ….

Please Take Responsibility and Set Aside the Necessary Funds for Levee Construction.

We will be changing all previous posts to reflect that.

And send a few strands of beads to your Congress Critters