Bush ‘picked wrong disaster aides’

THE White House was under fire again yesterday with reports US President George W Bush chose unqualified political supporters instead of disaster experts to head the agency leading the Katrina relief effort.

The Washington Post reported five of the top eight Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials had little experience in handling disasters and owed their jobs to political ties to Mr Bush.

As political operatives took the top jobs, professionals and experts in hurricanes and disasters left the agency, the newspaper said.