Tuesday, January 19, 2010
US soldiers stand around in Haiti, doing nothing
by Larry Geller
The soldiers are standing around because they have nothing to distribute, and there’s no one they can shoot, violence is apparently minimal and not the problem the US press is beating the drums about.
Multiple reports of helicopters landing, then taking off and throwing food out the doors. Inhuman treatment. Not in your newspaper? Well, the rest of the world is reading about it. Shame.
Why not send rescuers instead of military? Oh, and while Hillary Clinton was grabbing her photo op at the airport, it seems that aid flights were turned away by the US military air controllers.
The United Nations troops reportedly looked after rescuing staff from their own collapsed building and then did nothing else. Here’s a related tweet: “Ppl in Leogane need food desperately.UN won't come until 'security is confirmed' What they refer to I have no idea http://twitpic.com/yog2d”.
Reported by Amy Goodman in today’s Democracy Now, from Haiti:
As we passed through the epicenter, a young man hailed down our car, and he said, “Please, we see some helicopters overhead, but they don’t stop here. We have no aid. We have no food.”
Another report mentioned that there is a clear area in the center of town that could be used as a heliport to bring food and water—but it’s not.
Old folks dying one after another simply for lack of food and water.
Resources:
Democracy Now
Flashpoints
Amy Goodman’s tweets from Haiti
Sharif Kouddous’ tweets from Haiti (includes some Twitpics, a few quite graphic)
This is turning rapidly into Obama’s Katrina.
Is the US Gov. role to reduce population by starvation and violence? Disgust at the lack of humanitarium leadership on the part of the Obama Administration to the people of Haiti and Gaza! Who is this guy who gave so much hope to the world before Jan. 2009? Obama has failed miserably as a peacemaker and humanitarian! It appears that like Reagan, he is just "playing a role" of desception.The rhetoric is an improvement over Bush but the actions are unchanged for human kind. A very cruel disappointment!
: January 20, 2010 at 9:11:00 AM HST When I see what other countries are doing in Haiti, I'm ashamed of my country. Haiti is right NEXT DOOR to us! Why weren't we the first and most massive of rescue responders?
: January 20, 2010 at 2:24:00 PM HST I have a soldier that is deployed in Haiti and they haven't done ANYTHING for 4 months. They are sitting around, playing video games, watching movies, they are given no direction as to what needs to be done. Something HAS got to be done about this OR bring them home! He is tired of being there with nothing to do.They are all willing to work, that is their job, but they need direction. Sean Penn is trying to keep the troops there longer. No idea how he can actually give any say as to what goes on, but I am appalled. He has troops guarding his golf course. There are plently of other places that these troops need to be.
: April 18, 2010 at 1:51:00 PM HST << Home
Post a Comment
Requiring those Captcha codes at least temporarily, in the hopes that it quells the flood of comment spam I've been receiving.