Posted on 01/01/2005 7:01:45 PM PST by Pikamax
With $2 Billion Donated, U.N. Now Needs Help to Deliver Aid By WARREN HOGE
NITED NATIONS, Jan. 1 - Jan Egeland, the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, said Saturday that the commitment of relief money from more than 40 nations had reached $2 billion, but he said that the scale of the response was overwhelming the capacity to deliver aid.
"The compassion has never ever been like this," he said, but then added, "The military and civil defense assets that many countries are providing us are as valuable as cash or gold would be today because it makes us move with the assistance and it makes us get there in the race against the clock."
Mr. Egeland said the food and medical relief that was arriving in thousands of shipments was running into "logistical constraints" caused by overloaded airports and other bottlenecks. He gave a list of equipment needs drawn up in a telephone conference meeting on Friday with representatives of the United States-led core group of nations that also includes Australia, India and Japan.
Those needs included helicopters and ships able to carry them, air-traffic-control units, landing craft, trucks, cargo planes, base camps for the aid workers, fuel storage and water treatment units, generators and medical kits.
He said that some of that equipment was already coming in and that in addition to the core-group nations, he had spoken with officials in Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and other European countries.
He said aid workers were feeding one million people in Indonesia and needed to feed 700,000 in Sri Lanka, a goal the World Food Program expected to reach by Thursday.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's pledge of $500 million, Mr. Egeland said, made Japan the largest single donor, but he said he had "huge pledges" from the United States, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Britain, Sweden, China, the European Union "and so many other partners."
Mr. Egeland, who stirred anger in the Bush administration this week when he said that despite growing prosperity, rich nations were becoming stingy in providing development aid to poor countries, went out of his way on Saturday to praise the American effort in the current campaign. Since his earlier comments, the United States has raised its commitment from an initial figure of $15 million to $350 million, and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Friday that it was likely to go higher still.
"The United States, the wealthiest nation in the world, is doing a phenomenal job in this unprecedented challenge, not only with a very large cash donation but also bringing in military and civil defense assets that is precisely what we need," he said.
But he coupled the praise with a New Year's wish that the kind of response seen this week become the new norm.
"What we got in six days in this natural disaster was as much as we got for the more than 20 countries with phenomenal emergencies with hundreds if not millions of lives at stake all combined in 2004," he said. "What I hope in 2005 is that this is the level of international generosity when people are dying from natural disasters or conflict, because it hasn't been that in 2003 and 2004."
The U.N. can pool all its money and all its people and lease aircraft and ships, and they can all go to Sumatra and get to work, there.
Its not the UN's money
I would have hope that Egeland would have considered how much its costing the US to keep those ships in fuel, supplies etc.
That task group is costing well over a million a day (actually closer to two million) alone to run---in addition to the 350 million monatary pledge by DC.
Just keep your hands out of the till!
Sucks that we have to go through the UN to do good deeds, their track record does not merit handling the world's goodwill.
Air Canada has pledged a couple of aircraft for the relief effort- have any other airlines done so? It seems to me that private carriers probably have far more transport capability than most military organizations.
Aside from the typical slams against the UN I am particularly confused about something. The money is coming from sources outside of the UN and the UN is in need of other people to actually do the relief work. So what exactly is the UN's role in this?
I'm being serious. What specifically are they doing? Co-ordinating? Supervising? Anything?
Sorry UN no help needed.
After spending $1.9 billion to set up relief offices
and hire UN staff, we will then have $100 million left
to help these poor victims.
pilfering
They also abscond.
Two billion!!! Boy, howdy, the NYC mistresses of some UN diplomats and officials are going to get new BMWs this quarter!! That pool of money almost replaces the lost Iraqi oil money!! Great!!
Our money is NOT going to the UN.
Why do they need more money?
but he said that the scale of the response was overwhelming the capacity to deliver aid.
Odd, we don't seem to be having any trouble!
But, you see, the UN is just a building; the only "assets" they have are what we "loan" them. Poor Jan shot himself in the foot, calling us stingy.
By the time Kofi drug his butt of the slopes at Jackson Hole, Bush had formed a "coalition" which left Kofi in a position of having to BEG Colin Powell to let them "participate."
Screw them; by the time they decide the shape of their meeting table, we will be halfway to done.
Of course, after it goes through the UN, it will total $47.50 and a box of ramen noodles.
This has been a God send to the UN and especially the coffee man and his private staff. They are redeemed, they will be making money under the table, glowing with so much importance and sense of personal mission. Sorry folks. I must say it.
FUCK EM.
Now our dear POTUS truly should stick it to these bastards. Hey when strong talk is required you use it.
GWB should make a point in some time soon that the US will keep a carefull eye on how the UN is handling this whole situation. GWB just as much as probably 99% of us realize what weasels the UN are. He has absolutely nothing to lose by making carefully prepared statements as how the US feels the UN must be, how should we say "monitored" as to how they conduct their "mission of mercy". Of course we know, while the C-man was probably sking the bunny slopes of Jackson Hole, hey I skied there years back when it was wild, steep and deep, out of bounds skiing, the old Hobacks, the back bowls and places like lower shit house run, damn well over fifty degrees through the dense trees, great place back then......GWB already put into action our Navy, Airforce, and Marines to get moving. They UN licks it's fangs, freebies on the way............America quietly mobilizes to do the real hard shit, like send carrier groups and probably soon Navy/Marine tasks groups, our Marine transports loaded with medical supplies, food, water, books, computers, staffs of volunteer medical personel both from the private sector as well as our military, blessem, construction equipment, construction materials to make brand new better schools and medical clinics then what many of these folks originally had, and least we forget rubbers, sorry our dear Freeper ladies, I sense you won't cream me on this one.
The point 90% plus of us Freepers will make is damn, the USA started with conviction, compassion and ACTION to help those in these remote areas long before the rest of the world got of it's morning potty!
God bless the United States of America and those strong democratic allies that stand with us when the gitten gets tough!
Middleman, like the Oil For Kofi program. They are there to skim as much off the donations as possible.
One more thing from this Marine Uncle. A lot of people often question God would allow things like this to happen. May I ask what difference we should see in some poor little child full of wonder, not really mature enough to realize how precious life is to be taken in this disaster, verse how many millions of people world wide just in the past few years have been deliberatly slain by people with no love in their hearts for often really self serving purposes such as taking over whole regions in the name of allah, notice the low case, since allah is only a sin moon god represented by a stone for all practical purposes, though Muslims world wide cring at the thought when presented with the facts of the origins of allah and why their prophet, what a mess this guy truly was.......choice this particular god out of the some 360. Point to be made out of respect to all our forum members is............ why didn't the world want to respond to the actions taken by the United States and Britain and the willing allies, to rid rid Iraq from a man and his followers that saw no wrong in dropping tiny little innocent babies from choppers while their parents where forced to watch? As many people that died last week in the Indian Ocean, pales in respects to the number or people that where deliberaty killed by just one mid east regiem.
Why was the world not on the US o A side to remove people that loved to kill their own and neighboring countries peoples? Where are the billions being offered to these peoples. Warm and fuzzy feelings from the L/MSM and elsewhere all of a sudden, seem to have that warm and caring feeling in their hearts.
Sorry if I offend anyone here.
My thoughts exactly.. The U.N. graft far eclipses even Washington D.C.. as do U.N. wages..
This Mr. Egeland just doesn't learn. He is continuing to whine about 2003 and 2004, even after his first ill-considered (and later retracted) remarks about the tsunami disaster relief.
This is unseemly behavior on his part, but par for the course at that club of the venal.
Probably they are grabbing what they can for themselves ..at best they are complicating matters..an uteer failure organization
Well said bro ..I'm with ya &100..The UN is USELESS at best .
"Typical bleeding heart American....don't you understand..it's all about money and politics not caring for people. </sarcasm>"
You got that right. I should put a "sarcasism" signature after more of my comments.
"Well said bro ..I'm with ya &100..The UN is USELESS at best"
Yea the UN is "best" at finding ways to profit some of it's own. I wonder how much money just from the Iraqi Oil for Peace program alone ended up in private accounts of UN members and affiliates. This Eggy Weggy guy has a lot of nerve to call the US stingy.
" would have hope that Egeland would have considered how much its costing the US to keep those ships in fuel, supplies etc.
That task group is costing well over a million a day (actually closer to two million) alone to run---in addition to the 350 million monatary pledge by DC."
You got that right. Heaven knows how much the US may eventually spend on this affair. Perhaps a lot of the $350 spoken of may include the cost for our military to conduct non scheduled military for peace operations. Like you said, just for this one carrier group to participate as it is, probably costs a few million per day. Of course in all honestly we must remember the USS Lincoln carrier group has been stationed in the Indian Ocean so, perhaps it can be viewed as a low cost blessing. The moneys already being paid for by the American tax payers.
One thing I would like to note, and it is not my original idea......I recently read it elsewhere. Is that the fresh water distillation plants on the carrier and perhaps some other support ships in this group will be able to produce huge amounts of safe drinkable water to quickly be distributed to many villages throughout the northern tip of Sumatra. Surely this is a super blessing and will help save the lives of many people.
Gee, the UN can't 'coordinate' relief efforts and massive monetary donations. Koffi and pals can't be expected to do everything! For heaven's sake, they're busy looting the till and setting up world class 'accommodations in affected areas, so they won't be a burden on the locals.'
The UN heirarchy is blovating and hellbent on seizing whatever credit they can, merited or not. This is about the tsunami, but also has ramifications about the UN's continued existence -- so they're desperate.
You didn't offend a single soul. The truth never does.
even the smallest ship there can provide 90K gallons per day in fresh water.
In that case it IS a blessing.
The UN is doing nothing there by design.
This is NYT propaganda trying to spin the UN into the ILLUSION that they matter here. The UN sent "paper pushers" not food or supplies.
How can ANY corporation advertise in the NYT without being embarrassed?
"You didn't offend a single soul. The truth never does."
I just figured, since I have been using some rough language in similiar posts, that perhaps I should present a more warm fuzzy approach. One things for sure, Eggy Weggy has retracted his harsh unfounded remarks. Perhaps as he envisions the amounts of monies that will eventually line his pockets he felt remiss in not changing his view point. Then again, I guess it is within the relm of probability that being from a socialistic nation where he thinks the government is reponsible to give him everything, he felt his statements where appropiate. Who knows what lurks in a socialists mind.
"even the smallest ship there can provide 90K gallons per day in fresh water. In that case it IS a blessing."
So the USA is probably over the past two days providing more safe water to those villages of of northeast Sumatra then the Aceh province would have envisioned possible.
Go Navy. I assume the Australian Royal Navy is already sending ships to like areas along the western side of Sumatra etc..
Guess it is time to start visiting various US mil sites as well as our brothers in arms mil sites to get updated news.
The RAN and RAAF are already on-scene, or are on their way.
The Aussies, like the US, have always been quick to lend assistance where and when needed.
"The RAN and RAAF are already on-scene, or are on their way.
The Aussies, like the US, have always been quick to lend assistance where and when needed."
I salute our brothers in arms. And their two governments. And might I also add the Canadian branches of the military. We four nations have been through so much together over the years. Long term sustained relationships, with often sacrifice by all for the common good that extends world wide.
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