Personally, I think the Corps does (and has done) a pretty good job through the years. Hey, NOBODY or NO THING can totally control Mother Nature and it doesn't matter what you do, you'll never hit 100% as there's nothing man made that won't be overwhelmed at some point. There are also rules, regulations, laws and general knowledge that change over time and some of their projects have been around for a LOT of years. Heck, my mom used to lather all us kids up with baby oil (to "protect" us) when we'd hit the beach, then send us out in the sun to sizzle like a slab of bacon. These days, that would border on child abuse! That said, I think we'd be in a bigger pickle without the Corps than with, but you can't expect technology and situations from the 1910's to be up to par with today's needs, technology and understanding of drainage systems. Like anything else, it's great when everything operates as designed, but disastrous when it doesn't. Or in some cases, can't.

I also think POLITICS has a HUGE impact on some of the failures attributed to the Corps. Like Washington fat cats who called the shots in Vietnam and ignored their Generals, they also ignore their Corps. Engineers when there's a big fat pork barrel project for some Congressman's particular interest. They say "do it", the Corps will say "it's not smart" and guess who wins? Same with my analogy to 'Nam ... Congress says "do it", the Generals say "it's not smart" ... guess who "wins" in the end?