![](https://levees.org/2/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/London-Unveiling-300x253.jpg)
Community leaders in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans unveil a historic plaque near ground zero of the east side breach of the London Avenue Canal. Photo/Hubie Vigreux
In a surprise development, the commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, has come clean over statements made to the New York Times after Katrina.
The Corps Commander who was in charge right after the 2005 storm, told NYTimes reporter John Schwartz that although the Corps was responsible for the levee failures, he also fingered New Orleans officials by saying they played a contributing role in the failure of two major outfall drainage canals.
Strock claimed local agencies forced the Corps to build an inferior system for the two canals. This message was repeated for years by other Corps brass including Maj Gen Don Riley and other Corps PR spokespersons.