Saturday, January 16, 2010
Doers and talkers: Comparing the UN to the USN
Claudia Rosett nails it: "Haiti: U.S. Sends Help, UN Wants Money."
Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson arrived in Haiti yesterday. Haitians are still waiting for the fleet of air craft carriers from the United Nations.
12 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Jan 16, 12:44:00 PM:
I keep hearing of delays in getting clearnce operations started. I wonder if this is related to the Administrations need to have the UN remain in charge. Imagine if the US had done this in Indonesia when the Tsunami hit Indonesia. The Bureaucrats first priority was booking into the first class hotels.
Additionally, we have an Administration which loves to talk, to show empathy (When they have an interest). Yesterday there was a discussion on who they should appoint as Earthquake operations supremo (As liaison to the UN of course). WTF? Just get it done.
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 01:30:00 PM:
The USAF is operating the airport around the clock - so supplies can get in.
The USCG is controlling the harbor, and working with the USN to clear the port.
The 82nd Airborne is arriving to establish law and order, and they will have the USMC working alongside them.
There is no time to wait for the UN.
Just step back and allow the US Defense Dept to do its job.
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 02:03:00 PM:
Let's see so far: The UN's CERF has released $25M in funds. The U.N's World Food Program has airlifted 86 metric tons of food. The UN Humanitarian Relief Dept has shipped millions of high energy bisuits, and first aid kits. UNICEF has sent cargo loads of supplies including oral rehydration salts, water purifications tablets and more buscuits. The UN's IOM is distributing non-food items such as tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting to provide temporary housing. UNFPA has shipped essential drugs and equipment to treat the tens of thousands of pregnant woman needing care. The UN's ITU has deployed 1000s of portable satellite uplinks, the UN's WHO (whose hospital was destroyed and dozens of its workers are missing) has sent medicals supplies and medicine to assist with surgical care, and the UNs OCHA is coordinating dozens of search and rescue teams.
I think the UN is already there, SM
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 03:08:00 PM:
Just step back and allow the US Defense Dept to do its job.
You mean the same U.S. military that Rush Limbaugh patriotically now refers to as is "Meals on Wheels?"
From Limbaugh's 1/15 show: "After all, isn't the job of the U.S. military first and foremost to protect the national security interests of the United States? No, it's not. The U.S. military is now Meals on Wheels. It always is with Democrat presidents."
Tsk. Tsk. Someone needs to remind the titular head of the Republican party about the U.S. military's significant Meals on Wheels efforts under the former administration.
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 03:36:00 PM:
I think the UN is already there, SM
Sat Jan 16, 02:03:00 PM.
As I recall from the Tsunami relief, the UN was good at issuing status reports, but everyone else was supplying the relief and doing the initial work.
Of course this might be a little different. I did hear the UN had 7000 people in country before the earthquake. I wonder what they were doing?
Rush is wrong - The US military is now the UN's meals on wheels.
Normally I would say helping Haiti is not only a charitable thing to do, it is also in our natonal security interests to do so.
However, Haiti has been and will continue to be a basket case, so any national security interests will be the same as before.
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Sat Jan 16, 05:13:00 PM:
"the titular head of the Republican party"
Only in liberal-land, so they can seize on every stupid or inflammatory thing he says (or doesn't say; see the recent deceit attributing false racist quotations to him) in order to justify their hatred of Republicans as a group.
He's a radio personality. He lives off of controversy (i.e. ratings) and telling an ideological receptive audience things they like to hear. It's his career!
Is that frightful douchebag Keith Olbermann part of Democratic leadership? No! He's just a frightful douchebag who got famous by saying stupid, inflammatory things to a receptive audience. To call him the titular head of anything except the Frightful Douchebags Guild is silly.
By , at
Sat Jan 16, 07:45:00 PM:
A comment on Twitter:
"Man, we should ship Gnl Russell Honoré to Haiti on one of them cargo loads, stat."
By JPMcT, at
Sun Jan 17, 12:13:00 AM:
Hmmm...we seem to have attracted some Limbaugh-quoting libtrolls.
Such is the importance of this blog, I suppose.
I would ask these guys, though, a simple question of comparative politics.
We were about this far into the Katrina disaster when the media started to blame the Bush administration for abject failure to bring relief to New Orleans. The same New orleans with the Democrat mayor and governor whose complete incompetence was the real issue, piled upon decades of graft and corruption in their local government.
Then there is Haiti...decades of graft, corruption, poverty, dependence and crumbling infrastructure...in other words, New Orleans on an island. Yet there is nothing but praise for the Obama "vigorous effort" despite heaps of bodies in the streets, roving looters and gangs and no significant impact of the rescue attempts yet.
Who is to "blame" for this mess???
By filbert, at
Sun Jan 17, 10:14:00 AM:
The greatest humanitarian organization ever created by humanity is the United States Armed Forces.
"No worse enemy, no better friend" as the Marines say . . .
By , at
Sun Jan 17, 10:22:00 AM:
Is that frightful douchebag Keith Olbermann part of Democratic leadership? No!
Of course not. But unlike Limbaugh, Olbermann wasn't asked to be the keynote speaker at the annual conference for his party's activists in '09. Nor did the DNC leader feel the need to publicly apologize to Olbermann for calling him an entertainer, and then acknowledge him publicly as a "national [conservative] leader." Nor did Olberman have challenge the President of the United States to a debate, expenses included.
But you're right Dawn. Recent polls show that Rush has slipped in his standing: Only 56% of Republicans believe Limbaugh has a great deal of influence in steering the GOP.
Stunning.
By , at
Sun Jan 17, 10:29:00 AM:
Yet there is nothing but praise for the Obama "vigorous effort" despite heaps of bodies in the streets, roving looters and gangs and no significant impact of the rescue attempts yet.
No impact? Meals on Wheels? Boy, you guys sure have no problem dissing the United States military when there's a Democrat in the Oval Office
By JPMcT, at
Tue Jan 19, 12:35:00 AM:
At the point I wrote that comment, there were about a thousand US troops in Haiti, the airport was not yet open and civil order had not been restored...pretty much where we were with New Orleans.
Of course, let's not forget Mississippi (where the hurrucane actually hit), which recovered in an orderly and quiet manner from the actual devastation of the hurricane...not from broken levees that were neglected by years of local political incompetnce.
The point, missed by Anon, is that local response to disaster is the only thing that's going to make a difference in the first 2-3 days...not the Government, not well-meaning donations and not the US Military.
IF Bush was to "blame" for a less than instantaneous response to New Orleans...then what is good for the goose should be the same for the gander...unless you're a Democrat.
