by Mark Silva

Frances Fragos Townsend, homeland security adviser to President Bush since May 2004, will leave the White House, the president announced today.

Townsend, who had gone to the White House from the U. S. Coast Guard, where she served as assistant commandant for intelligence, has overseen the domestic war on terrorism for the president. She also spearheaded the investigation of what went wrong with relief and recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and produced a report in 2006, Hurricane Katrina, Lessons Learned.

Townsend, who had spent 13 years at the Department of Justice, started as a federal prosecutor in 1985, working as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn. She is said to be leaving in pursuit of a "private sector opportunities'' – as many other senior members of the Bush administration have left near the start of the president's final year in office.

"Over the past four and a half years, Fran Townsend has served my administration with distinction as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism,'' Bush said in a statement this morning.

“Fran has always provided wise counsel on how to best protect the American people from the threat of terrorism,'' the president said. "She has been a steady leader in the effort to prevent and disrupt attacks and to better respond to natural disasters.''

Dana Perino, White House press secretary, said Townsend "will pursue some private-sector opportunities.

"She does intend to remain very active in the public debate about counterterrorism,'' Perino said of Townsend today, "and especially the tools that she believes policymakers and the intelligence community and the Justice Department officials and others across the government need in order to beat back the very determined enemy that we face. ''

“Fran's remarkable career as a public servant has spanned more than two decades,'' the president said in a statement released by the White House this morning. “She has prosecuted violent crimes, narcotics offenses, mafia cases and white collar fraud as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.

“With her extensive experience, intellect and candor, Fran has ably guided the Homeland Security Council,'' Bush said, crediting Townsend for playing “an integral role in the formation of the key strategies and policies my Administration has used to combat terror and protect Americans.''

Townsend was appointed Homeland Security Advisor by the pesident on May 28, 2004. She chaired the Homeland Security Council and reported to the president on homeland security as well as combatting terrorism matters. She previously served as deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism.

Townsend had served as Assistant Commandant for Intelligence in the Coast Guard. Before that, she spent 13 years at the Department of Justice in a variety of senior positions, her last assignment as Counsel to the Attorney General for Intelligence Policy. Ms. Townsend began her prosecutorial career in 1985, serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York.

Townsend is a graduate of American University, with a B.A. in Political Science and B.S. in Psychology. She received her law degree from University of San Diego School in 1984.