Posted on 01/01/2005 9:05:12 AM PST by chiller
Tsunami Relief: The Real Story
Several months ago, we linked to a new blog by a group of career Foreign Service officers, called Diplomad. Diplomad provides sharp, knowledgeable commentary. It turns out that one of the site's contributors is stationed in one of the countries hit by the tsunami (I don't think he's said which one). His regard for the U.N. disaster relief effort is, shall we say, muted:
Well, we're heading into Day 7 of the Asian quake/tsunami crisis. And the UN relief effort? Nowhere to be seen except at some meetings and on CNN and BBC as talking heads. In this corner of the Far Abroad, it's Yanks and Aussies doing the hard, sweaty work of saving lives. Check out this interview (on the UN's official website) with SecGen Annan and Under SecGen Egeland shows,
Mr. Egeland: Our main problems now are in northern Sumatra and Aceh. <...> In Aceh, today 50 trucks of relief supplies are arriving. <...> Tomorrow, we will have eight full airplanes arriving. I discussed today with Washington whether we can draw on some assets on their side, after consultations with the Indonesian Government, to set up what we call an air-freight handling centre in Aceh.
Tomorrow, we will have to set up a camp for relief workers 90 of them which is fully self-contained, with kitchen, food, lodging, everything, because they have nowhere to stay and we don't want them to be an additional burden on the people there.
I provided this to some USAID colleagues working in Indonesia and their heads nearly exploded. The first paragraph is quite simply a lie. The UN is taking credit for things that hard-working, street savvy USAID folks have done. It was USAID working with their amazing network of local contacts who scrounged up trucks, drivers, and fuel; organized the convoy and sent it off to deliver critical supplies. A UN air-freight handling centre in Aceh? Bull! It's the Aussies and the Yanks who are running the air ops into Aceh. We have people working and sleeping on the tarmac in Aceh, surrounded by bugs, mud, stench and death, who every day bring in the US and Aussie C-130s and the US choppers; unload, load, send them off. We have no fancy aid workers' retreat -- notice the priorities of the UN? People are dying and what's the first thing the UN wants to do? Set up "a camp for relief workers" one that would be "fully self-contained, with kitchen, food, lodging, everything."
The UN is a sham.
There's lots more; check it out, and return to Diplomad for ongoing coverage. It will be interesting to see what happens when the U.N. people actually show up.
Yawn....
Expelling the U.N. or its demise is on my list of things I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, but I think it will happen.
Strangely, the '00 electoral/popular votes were on my list along with a biblical proportioned tsunami event like this.
Parading Michael Jordan around would like like a cheap publicity trick.
That's another lie the UN and media are perpetrating : the core group does not exist to compliment the non-existant UN relief effort, as has been implied. The UN relief effort, when they get it off the ground, will simply be one of many parts of the core group.
Yes, exactly. :)
I have looked and noticed that a list of giving nations are not listed on BBC website etc. Which to me is odd considering the big deal made of it. Secondly would'nt be interesting to see how much islamic nations give to blowing up people (in Israel) as compared to them giving money to actually helping people. I guess this blows the arab theory that the christian west is doing little to help muslim suffering. Just a contrast I thought would be interesting to make, and sofar I only see listed Saudi Arabia Qatar Kuwait & Iran totaling 45 million.
Arab countries like Saudi are donating...the UAE is...I haven't heard anything about pledges from Mexico either. South America yes, but not Mexico. Anyone know whether Mexico has pledged any aid?
I thought you advocated some celebrity in our relief efforts, or do You just convince easily?
Talk is cheap, and we have way too many assertions totally undocumented, including yours.
The U.S. did not start this "donation comparison pissing match" as you so eloquently put it, and we can either ignore the U.S. bashers or respond. I choose to respond.
The Persian Gulf states are long on talk and short on action. Always. I say we put their feet to the fire. Same with the Euroeunuchs.
The Korean War. Under the UN aspices (the heavy lifting done by the US and our friends like usual), the South Koreas were relieved of the threat of being completely overrun and sent to North Korean re-education camps. 8^)
Here is the list of charities USAID works with:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ngolist.html
Here is the home page of USAID
http://www.usaid.gov
Like who? If the President refuses to recognize the UN, the legislative branch can't compell him to! And when the most powerful man in the world tells you to FOAD, you eventually do!
It is amazing traveling in very rural South-East Asia how many people will know nothing about foreign politics but can instantly recognize the face of a famous actor or sports star. This could easily be used as a form of branding for foreign aid. It would also force the local media in these countries to take notice since there is no way they would pass up the photo op. Very cheap and effective.
I hate the "they hate us and there is nothing we can do about it" defeatest attitutude shown by many on FR. There is a lot we could do, but without the effort, it will not happen. Many on FR forget it was the media who lost the Vietnam War, not the soldiers on the ground.
This has always been true of UN "relief" efforts. Why should they care? They are usually spending American money. The bottomless money pit.
Any locals who decide to extort from their countrymen should be "persuaded" by the local authorities to donate their vehicles to the effort; unless, of course, the local authorities are in on the extortion. In which case we have two choices: stop the relief effort until they sort things out. Or yield to the extortion for fear of being called bullies. Not much of a choice.
I would support the third option, but now is not the time. Let's see how deeply we yield to the extortion by the very people we are trying to help, first.
"When does the rest of American wake up and demand the U.N. shut down?"
You've got my vote for that happening ASAP!
"It was USAID working with their amazing network of local contacts who scrounged up trucks, drivers, and fuel; organized the convoy and sent it off to deliver critical supplies."
Outsourcing seems to be a good thing here.
http://www.usaid.gov
I have found nothing that Mexico has contributed, and it's not because they can't afford it.
FYI
Mexico has more "Forbes" billionaires, 11, than all but eight other nations. It has more billionaires than Saudi Arabia, Switzerland or Taiwan. It also has more than 85,000 millionaires.
Aired 12/16/04 On CNN
DOBBS: But, in point of fact, Mexico is one of the richest countries in Latin America, amongst -- the millionaires, billionaires and its wealth concentrated in the hands of very few.
www.cnn.com/lou
Some people knee jerk about things they don't know. From the very first day of his very first term, President Bush has been waging diplomatic war with the UN. Even on their own turf. What he wants is to use the familiarity of the UN to help get things done, while attempting to force the UN back to it's original charter. There's a good possibility the UN won't survive this overdue shake up.
As for State, of COURSE they want the UN. State exists mostly as a diplomatic bridge between us lovers of government by, of and for the people and the socialists of EUrAsia. Naturally, most Staties are lefties.
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