Brown's well-chronicled gaffes in Louisiana had less impact on FEMA than his little-known power struggles in Washington. Brown lost almost all of them -- partly because he was widely despised at DHS for his relentless infighting -- and FEMA paid a price in money, manpower, missions and prestige.

The lengthy linked article is based in part on information provided by Brown, who cannot escape blame for his inept and uncaring response to Katrina. But Brown's complaints aren't simply a self-serving attempt to salvage a reputation. The Post cites evidence that Brown complained about "the absence of effective leadership" and "complete lack of accountability for results" at DHS in the months leading up to Katrina. Brown's complaints point to a larger problem in the Bush administration: the inability to manage the inevitable power struggles that followed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, or to recognize and cure the adverse impact that turf wars had on FEMA.

In many ways, Brown is a cautionary tale of what can happen to Washington officials who make mistakes in the public eye after making enemies behind the scenes. Brown spent two years trying to use his contacts with White House officials to undercut DHS, but the White House rarely backed him, and DHS leaders responded by shifting FEMA's responsibilities and resources to more cooperative agencies.

Ridge stripped FEMA's power over billions of dollars worth of preparedness grants as well as the creation of a national disaster response plan. Most of the agency's top staff quit. And after he arrived at DHS in February, Chertoff decided to take away the rest of FEMA's preparedness duties.

Brown deserved to lose his job, but so do others. Let's hope this story will renew the public's interest in seeking accountability for the administration's inadequate response to Katrina.