White House To Release Its Own Report On Hurricane Katrina Response
BLITZER: Lou Dobbs getting ready for his show. That begins right at the top of the hour. Lou, I know what you're working on, but tell our viewers. LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR Wolf, thank you very much. Coming up at 6:00 here on CNN, we will have all the day's important news, as well new questions tonight about the president's refusal to review the Dubai port deal, and the longstanding business relationships and connections between the Bush family and the United Arab Emirates. We will have a special report. And I will be joined by the governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine. He will be here to talk about his plan to outright stop the sale. And I will be talking with one member of the Bush administration who admits, our trade policy with China is troubled. U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman will be my guest. And I will also be responding to the president's challenge to those critics of this deal. I hope he will be listening to our response, Wolf. And we hope you will join us -- back to you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: We certainly will, Lou. Thanks very much. Lou has been on top of this story long before most of the mainstream media. Both the House and the Senate, by the way, are now investigating something else. That would be the White House poised to release its own internal report on the response to Hurricane Katrina. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now live with details -- Suzanne.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, after reviewing thousands of documents, interviewing nine -- six -- six governors, nine mayors, and, of course, all Cabinet members, the White House says it's ready to unveil its report. The big question here is, how tough is it going to be? Here's our preview.</s>MALVEAUX (voice-over): More than 1,300 dead, 1.5 million immediately displaced, more than $100 billion worth of damage -- the likes of Hurricane Katrina is something the administration hopes it will never confront again. But, now, with only three months until the next hurricane season, President Bush is unveiling his much-anticipated report about the administration's failures to respond and the lessons learned.</s>MCCLELLAN: This lessons-learned review has identified 125 recommendations in 17 general categories where we can improve the federal government's capability to respond to a catastrophic event, like Hurricane Katrina, or a future terrorist attack.</s>MALVEAUX: Those lessons learned include having the military take on a more robust role during a national catastrophic event, when state and local first-responders become overwhelmed, a restructuring of how the federal government deals with national emergencies, to have each department become proactive in its response. The president's homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend, who spearheaded the internal review, will lay out the details after Mr. Bush meets with his Cabinet. White House aides say, there will be no bombshells.</s>FRANCES TOWNSEND, WHITE HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: This wasn't an investigation to assign blame. It was a charge to identify lessons learned, systematic problems, and the best solutions to address them.</s>MALVEAUX: No calls for FEMA to be moved out of the Department of Homeland Security, no calls for its secretary, Michael Chertoff, or any other senior official to resign over their performance in dealing with Katrina.</s>TOWNSEND: Secretary Chertoff has had a busy first year. But his commitment to the department and to its mission has never faltered. He has led his department's lessons-learned effort.</s>MALVEAUX: And there are some who question just how critical the president's report is going to be, considering it's an internal investigation. It was just last week, the Republican-led House said that the president didn't do enough sooner. And, next month, the Senate comes out with its own findings -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much. Up ahead, a French court fines three paparazzi for photographing the late Princess Diana on the night of her fatal car crash. The amount may shock you. And, with all the concern about port security, what's actually inside those millions of shipping containers that enter America each year? That's coming up, 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.