Will Obama be blamed for not getting aid to earthquake victims in Haiti?
Rescue and relief efforts have been agonizingly slow.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Desperate Haitians scrambled Sunday to find food and water and guarded their meager possessions against the advance of looters as the United States and other nations struggled to jump-start a sluggish relief effort.
Even as Navy and Coast Guard ships arrived off shore, a round-the-clock airlift intensified, and additional dignitaries appeared, the frantic victims of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake were growing more fearful as they pleaded for help and security in a lawless city.
With massive amounts of aid promised but not yet delivered because of the difficulty of operating in the crippled country, the living banded together outdoors without shelter, sustenance or protection. There was widespread apprehension that unless the pace of aid distribution quickens, there could be mass violence as hundreds of thousands of people suddenly lacking food, water and electricity begin to compete for scarce resources.
...In Port-au-Prince, the mood managed to stay mostly calm, but there was more looting and shootings, including of four men who witnesses said were shot by police on suspicion of looting. There were fewer bodies in the streets, though in some places residents began burning corpses.
Many merchants were afraid to open their stores for fear that they would be overrun by hungry, desperate quake victims. Even pharmacies remained shuttered.
"We need the Haitian forces to protect us," said Cledanor Sully, owner of a small Port-au-Prince hotel called the Seven Stars. "We're all scared. We need the United Nations and we need the United States Marines."
Indeed, all over Port-au-Prince, signs begging for help from the Marines have been sprouting. At this point, though, it's unlikely that there will be a large U.S. military presence in Port-au-Prince. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said over the weekend that there will be up to 10,000 U.S. forces in Haiti and off its coast by today, but only a fraction of them will be on the ground.
"The bulk of them will be on ships," he said.
The troops that have been deployed to Haiti have been slow in arriving. Officials blame delays in part on Port-au-Prince's small, overburdened airport.
Is Obama mismanaging the U.S. response to this natural disaster?
Will he be held responsible for the full-blown humanitarian disaster that's unfolding in the wake of the earthquake?
Will Democrat lawmakers demand that hearings be held to investigate why relief efforts have been so slow?
Who's to blame?
Bush?
1 comment:
My name is Kurt Schuller and I am running for state treasurer. I am a Tea party inspired republican who want to eliminate the elected position of Treasurer and Secretary of State. These offices are unneeded and have become a vehicle to reward political patrons with cushy jobs. Rep Scott Suder
and others have twice tried to introduce constitutional amendments to eliminate them but to date efforts have been unsuccessful. I want to win the job so that I can work from the inside to lobby for elimination.
I am opposed by Scott Feldt in the republican primary. Seems like a really good guy but he is for the status quo. He has spent most of his career in and around established government, both elected (Rock County supervisor) and as a hired government administrator.
I have worked most of my life in the restaurant business and owned and operated Wolfendales restaurant in Sussex Wisconsin for ten years. I have never held political office. I have no money to get my word out and am hoping that those in the conservative blogosphere who agree with me will help raise awareness of my campaign.
check me out at www.schullerfortreasurer.com If you agree with me that its time to shrink our bloated government then spread the word
Post a Comment