Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has criticized the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
In a taped ABC television interview to air late Friday, Mr. Powell expressed his opinion that "there have been a lot of failures at a lot of levels - [of] local, state and federal [government]." The former top U.S. diplomat said "there was more than enough warning over time about the dangers to New Orleans," but not enough was done.
Mr. Powell, who was the highest ranking black official during President Bush's first term, says he does not believe race was a factor in the slow response to the hurricane. Mr. Powell says many of those unable to evacuate New Orleans before Katrina struck were trapped by poverty, which disproportionately affects blacks.