Who Would Have Guessed
More syrupy, lofty, blah blah rhetoric, catastrophic conditions and sinister intentions.
Haitian president at White House: US military occupation to continue
"Haitian President René Préval met Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake that killed up to a quarter of a million people. In a private meeting, Préval made an appeal for continued financial support for the relief efforts in his beleaguered country.
Préval and Obama held a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden following the closed-door meeting. The remarks made by the two leaders revealed indifference to the suffering of the Haitian people and a deliberate distortion of the actual response by the US and Haitian governments to the crisis.
Obama told reporters, “The international community can pledge the resources that will be necessary for a coordinated and sustained effort, and, working together, we can ensure that assistance not simply delivers relief for the short term, but builds up Haiti’s capacity to deliver basic services and provide for the Haitian people over the long term.”
In reality, Obama has pledged to ask Congress to allocate a paltry $1 billion in relief funds for Haiti, the equivalent of a few days’ spending on the wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. The figure does not begin to address the immense social need overwhelming the devastated country. Preliminary reports have shown that it will likely cost as much as $14 billion to rebuild the Haitian infrastructure, which was in wretched shape at time of the quake.
Of the Haitian government’s response to the tragedy, Obama told Préval in front of reporters, “Even as you and other Haitian leaders have endured your personal tragedies—losing your own homes, your loved ones—you have carried on with great courage and determination.” In fact, Préval was essentially invisible in the first weeks following the earthquake. The president and his entire government proved useless and impotent in the face of disaster and the desperate needs of the Haitian population. Thousands have taken to the streets in protests against the regime’s inaction.
Echoing comments made by Préval when the latter told a crowd of thousands to “Wipe away your tears to rebuild Haiti,” the US president declared, “As you declared during last month’s national day of mourning, it is time to wipe away the tears. It is time for Haiti to rebuild.”
In the case of Obama, one can only ask, “What tears?” No objective observer of the response by the US government to the catastrophe could describe it as compassionate, and Obama, as is his wont, has appeared indifferent throughout.
In the days following the earthquake, the American military took control of Haiti’s only airport, blocking the entrance of vital relief supplies into the country, so that troops could be brought in to “secure” the population in the event the massive suffering erupted into violence against the government and the hated Haitian ruling elite.
Obama indicated during the press conference that the US military presence in Haiti would continue indefinitely, saying, “America’s commitment to Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction must endure and will endure.” While some US troops have been withdrawn from the country, 10,000 remain in or near Haiti, half of them on the mainland, the other half stationed offshore.
Two months after the earthquake, conditions in Haiti remain dire."
flashback - It's The Oil
Haitian president at White House: US military occupation to continue
"Haitian President René Préval met Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake that killed up to a quarter of a million people. In a private meeting, Préval made an appeal for continued financial support for the relief efforts in his beleaguered country.
Préval and Obama held a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden following the closed-door meeting. The remarks made by the two leaders revealed indifference to the suffering of the Haitian people and a deliberate distortion of the actual response by the US and Haitian governments to the crisis.
Obama told reporters, “The international community can pledge the resources that will be necessary for a coordinated and sustained effort, and, working together, we can ensure that assistance not simply delivers relief for the short term, but builds up Haiti’s capacity to deliver basic services and provide for the Haitian people over the long term.”
In reality, Obama has pledged to ask Congress to allocate a paltry $1 billion in relief funds for Haiti, the equivalent of a few days’ spending on the wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. The figure does not begin to address the immense social need overwhelming the devastated country. Preliminary reports have shown that it will likely cost as much as $14 billion to rebuild the Haitian infrastructure, which was in wretched shape at time of the quake.
Of the Haitian government’s response to the tragedy, Obama told Préval in front of reporters, “Even as you and other Haitian leaders have endured your personal tragedies—losing your own homes, your loved ones—you have carried on with great courage and determination.” In fact, Préval was essentially invisible in the first weeks following the earthquake. The president and his entire government proved useless and impotent in the face of disaster and the desperate needs of the Haitian population. Thousands have taken to the streets in protests against the regime’s inaction.
Echoing comments made by Préval when the latter told a crowd of thousands to “Wipe away your tears to rebuild Haiti,” the US president declared, “As you declared during last month’s national day of mourning, it is time to wipe away the tears. It is time for Haiti to rebuild.”
In the case of Obama, one can only ask, “What tears?” No objective observer of the response by the US government to the catastrophe could describe it as compassionate, and Obama, as is his wont, has appeared indifferent throughout.
In the days following the earthquake, the American military took control of Haiti’s only airport, blocking the entrance of vital relief supplies into the country, so that troops could be brought in to “secure” the population in the event the massive suffering erupted into violence against the government and the hated Haitian ruling elite.
Obama indicated during the press conference that the US military presence in Haiti would continue indefinitely, saying, “America’s commitment to Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction must endure and will endure.” While some US troops have been withdrawn from the country, 10,000 remain in or near Haiti, half of them on the mainland, the other half stationed offshore.
Two months after the earthquake, conditions in Haiti remain dire."
flashback - It's The Oil
posted by nolocontendere at 5:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home