US: Democrats have called for a new inquiry into the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina after a newly released video showed that President Bush was warned in advance that New Orleans' levees could break, putting lives at risk and overwhelming rescue efforts, writes Denis Staunton in Washington
The video, which was obtained by the Associated Press, shows the final Homeland Security briefing before the storm came ashore on August 29th last year. Mr Bush, who was at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, did not ask a single question during the video conference but assured officials: "We are fully prepared."
Hurricane expert Max Mayfield warned of the devastation Katrina could cause and expressed "grave concern" about the New Orleans levees.
"I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern," he said.
Former emergency chief Michael Brown, who was sacked after the hurricane, is shown warning the president that there were not enough disaster teams to evacuate the Superdome, where many of those who had not left the city took shelter.
Mr Brown, who faced more criticism after the disaster than any other federal official, also warned that the evacuation of the city was inadequate.
"They're not taking patients out of hospitals, taking prisoners out of prisons and they're leaving hotels open in downtown New Orleans. So I'm very concerned about that," he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said the video "confirms what we have suspected all along, that this administration did anything they can to hide what really happened."
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said it underscored the need for an independent inquiry into the federal response to Katrina.
Louisiana's Senator Mary Landrieu said the video showed that the administration failed to prepare adequately for the possible breach of the levees. "This administration was told what Louisiana already knew: that our federally constructed levees could certainly fail. But these concerns, and others made by disaster relief experts fell on deaf ears."
In a statement, the White House defended the administration's actions before the storm hit.
"President Bush participated in briefings, phone calls and conversations throughout this process, and his administration was focused on making sure that the federal assets were in place to help the people of New Orleans. The president has made clear - as recently as this Tuesday - that he was not satisfied with the federal response. That is why he ordered a comprehensive 'lessons learned' report and plans to work aggressively to implement improvements to our disaster response plans by the start of hurricane season."
White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the public should not read too much into the video but the administration said it would not release tapes of other briefings.
"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing. He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."
The video, along with seven days of briefing transcripts also obtained by the Associated Press, appears to contradict Mr Bush's claim after the storm that nobody could have predicted its impact.
The video also shows Mr Bush and homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff appearing relaxed, in marked contrast to the agitation shown by Mr Brown and other officials.