Rescuing Haiti: American troops land in Port-au-Prince
Just updating you on the latest developments in Haiti as American troops landed at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince:
Scores of U.S. troops landed on the lawn of Haiti’s shattered presidential palace Tuesday to the cheers by quake victims eager for reinforcements in the sluggish global effort to bring food, water and shelter to the devastated country.
Thousands more U.S. troops are on the way and the U.N. Security Council was expected to approve a boost in its peacekeeping and police forces to help control outbursts of looting and violence that have slowed relief efforts.
Haitians jammed the fence of the palace grounds to gawk and cheer as the troops emerged.
“We are happy that they are coming, because we have so many problems,” said Fede Felissaint, a hairdresser.
…The U.S. military says it can now get 100 flights a day through the airport, up from 60 last week, but still could use more.
Troops parachuted pallets of supplies to a secured area outside the city on Monday rather than further clog the airport. American Airlines said it has warehouses full of donated food in Miami but has been unable to fly it to Port-au-Prince.
A Security Council vote was expected to add 1,500 more U.N. police and 2,000 more peacekeepers to join the 9,000 or so U.N. security personnel in Haiti. Some 2,000 newly arrived U.S. Marines were parked on ships offshore and the Pentagon said more troops are on the way.
The Courier Mail of Australia pays tribute to American leadership:
AS SOON as news broke of the devastating earthquake in Haiti eight days ago the US Government and military swung into action, dispatching the USS Carl Vinson – the world’s biggest warship – carrying 19 helicopters, hospital and logistical support ships, 3500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and scores of medical teams.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama immediately pledged $US100 million in emergency aid and promised that the blighted Caribbean state’s neighbour would be there until rescue and recovery was complete.
These efforts have been built on with thousands of additional troops and the Carl Vinson has been backed up with another giant aircraft carrier, the USS Bataan. The aid effort in Haiti is being led by the US and daylight is second.
It is at times of great catastrophe that not only the might and power of the US comes to the fore but also its values – compassion, practical assistance and an out-stretched and strong helping hand.
We saw it five years ago in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami when the US stepped up to the mark quickly and pulled together a coalition of assistance, leading a team that included Australia, Japan and India. Then an on-the-ground effort, which involved two battlegroups, and 20 US ships also led by two carriers, was backed by a total aid contribution of $US350 million.
As the Carl Vinson’s chaplain Geoff Ross said this week about Haiti the US had the coast guard, air force, army and navy working together to provide aid in way nobody else could do. “It’s the largest mercy agency in the world,” Mr Ross said.
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Kudos to our wonderful military again.
Do you want to bet we see NO video of Haitians cheering the Americans’ arrival?
No, no. The French have said that we are there to occupy Haiti. Americans are evil and predatory.
Let the Army engineering battalions loose and they will straighten things out in short order. The Navy can stabilize the major medical issues. Go get ‘em America. The French and UN crybabies can get their Sans Frontieres fannies back home. They are an impediment to success.
I don’t think it was the French who called us occupiers. It was Hugo Chavez and Al-Jazeera, a/k/a the usual suspects.
Let us do our humanitarian best and then get out. We are very good at helping-I fear there will be a push to stay and nation build which will basically force us to occupy and run Haiti.
France is slapping at us for being to slow–I do not recall France having an aircraft carrier off shore to help.
When you want to send the very best….
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The American Military kept millions from starving or freezing to death after the fall of Germany in WW2. People were living in the streets of their bombed out cities.
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The Marshall plan saved millions more–and American Military government gave German and Japanese People their countries back as decent places to live. Ditto for Korea after the war, and Kuwait after the first Gulf war.
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When our country retreats into isolationism the death toll will go up by hundreds of millions. No other country could or would help like we do.
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I’m not a Comrade Obama (PBUH) fan–but he took the right action this time.
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John Bibb
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nbarry and reddog, you are both right, all of the above have called us occupiers. gee i wonder what we would be called if we just stayed home and watched football playoffs and told hugo and france to fix this mess? i applaud our military as they are the best and the only one who can launch this massive a rescue operation, but i sure get tired of funding this sort of stuff only to be criticized by the haitians and much of the world, and always the u.n. PLEASE SEND THE U.N. TO DUBAI, AND GET US OUT OF THAT NEW WORLD ORDER FECKLESS MONEY SUMP.
They have the supplies. They need people to hand them out.
The UN has police?
We still have money?
On the other hand, as long as we’re in it, we have a veto. But we don’t need to pay for everything.
The US Military – no greater friend, no worse enemy……
Hey, the French have an aircraft carrier — a nuclear powered one, to boot. Only problem is that it’s so poorly-constructed that it never goes to sea.
Or as they said in Nelson’s day, “The British drank rum, while the French stuck to port.”
The spirit of American generosity and compassion is alive and well; the only thing that is changing is that we’re having to borrow our money from China to pay for it. How much longer that can go on, I don’t know.
To everyone who would rather see a world with a neo-isolationist America that shrugs and yawns when disaster strikes, I remind them of the old saw about being careful what you wish for…
Alright! We’ve captured the Palace! Pretty soon this Global Warming caused catastrophe will be over and we can bring the troops home!
/major Sarc!!!
Amen and Halleluiah!!
You taking notes Hugo? Where are your troops? Thought so, windbag!!
The Chinese had to co-sign the check.
Careful. That’s the SOLE justification for having a military to LOTS of people — enough to spin Obama’s 2nd term.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
I suspect this is what James Cameron meant after winning the Golden Globe about being “appropriate use of the military”…
Of course we are doing the right thing in Haiti, as we have done so many times in the past. Unfortunately, too many liberals want our military to be tied down by humanitarian relief missions as an alternative way of “defending our nation”. They would much prefer it be a kind of Peace Corp with big boats and helicopters.
It was THE FRENCH that had Haiti as a colony for crying out loud. The Frecnh handled Haiti’s independence in the same way they handled how Germany should be teeated after WWI-place brutal financial debt requirements on the Island that they could not pay in 1825…
Free people are the most generous people. God bless our troops wherever they may be.
Yes, they do.
Yeah. He could have spent more had he chosen better.
I was watching Deutche Welle over the weekend and every time they showed video of the Fairfax County Rescue team helping someone they referred to them as “international rescue teams” but every time they showed pictures of non-American teams they referred to them by their country of origin…
And the stupid French are even worse! Frankly, we should demand THEY occupy Haiti and fix the mess they created 200 years ago! What a bunch of ungrateful, smelly jerks.
Sanjay Gupta mentioned that the Israelis were the first with operating medical units – not surprised.
The United States of America and our military are the best in the world, it is time for the world to remember that point.
And unlike Indonesia, there were no religious objections to the Israeli’s presence from the Haitians.
The Israelis are, in effect, the new Samaritans, despised by the world around them; yet like the Good Samaritan, they’re ready and willing to minister to the wounded man on the other side of the road – or in this case, on the other side of the world.
And I am so proud of our men and women in the military, as I am of all the men and women who have devoted their lives to helping others in places like Haiti.
May God keep them all safe, and grant them wisdom and strength as they work to bring order to the chaos and devastation that exists in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake(s).
Imagine what Bush would’ve gotten had the Israelis been first in New Orleans.
James Greenidge
Queens NY