Military report's new take on Katrina Debacle.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY - Hurricane Katrina - Brief article

* Most Americans believe that the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina was "at best inept and at worst a reflection of latent racism," but, in truth, the 2005 disaster epitomized the government's failure to win the media wars, contends the US Joint Forces Command in a report tided, "Joint Operating Environment 2008."

JFCOM suggests that, based on the lessons from Katrina, the U.S. military should focus on winning the "battle of narratives" regardless of how events turn out. "At the end of the day, it is the perception of what happened that matters more than what may actually have happened," says the report. "Dominating the narrative of any operation, whether military or otherwise, pays enormous dividends. Failure to do so undermines support for policies ... and can actually damage a country's reputation."

The devastation along the Gulf Coast was of historical proportions, but JFCOM still believes that the federal...