Back when I was in civil service I expressed the same idea this way:

As part of the bureaucracy I only have the power to say “no”. Elected officials have reserved the power to say “yes” to themselves, which is how they get campaign contributions. The politicians have specifically designed the system to direct all negative feelings towards the bureaucracy, while they harvest all of the good will.

“Politician’s logic:
We must do something.
This is something.
Therefore we must do it.”

“In government, many people have the power to stop things happening but almost nobody has the power to make things happen. The system has the engine of a lawn mower and the brakes of a Rolls Royce.”

“Two kinds of government chair correspond with the two kinds of minister: one sort folds up instantly and the other sort goes round and round in circles.”

“If you believe the security of the realm is at risk you don’t hold a security enquiry, you call in the Special Branch. Government security enquiries are only used for killing press stories.”

“Leak enquiries are for setting up, not for conducting.”

“It is only totalitarian governments that suppress facts. In this country we simply take a democratic decision not to publish them.”

“The Prime Minister doesn’t want the truth, he wants something he can tell Parliament.”

“The perfect representative on a government committee is a disabled black Welsh woman trades unionist.”

“A good political speech is not one in which you can prove that the man is telling the truth; it is one where no one else can prove he is lying.”

“Administration is about means, not ends. The only ends in administration are loose ends.”

Yup. And it’s the same everywhere. 🙂

Every place I have ever worked, no matter what the organization did, when management wanted to bury something without making it obvious to others that no action was ever going to be taken, a committee/commission was formed.

All of the information that is required has already been given, all you need is an editorial staff to bring it together and publish it is chronological order. Throw in some maps and diagrams in a consistent format by some graphic artists [or just license them from McClatchy, which has had some good ones], include footnotes to the original transcripts, and recommend that BP’s upper management be used to plug the well. A couple of weeks, max.

As you say, the whole purpose is to appear you are doing something, while not actually doing a damn thing.