"The summit gave the United Nations overall control of coordinating the relief effort, but the U.N. official in charge on Sumatra complained that the U.S. military was failing to work with relief organizations.
"Michael Elmquist said that while U.S. military helicopters were speeding relief supplies to isolated villages, their crews were not spending enough time on the ground to assess survivors' needs.
"They don't stop their engines. They're on the ground for five minutes," Elmquist told reporters in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra."
"The U.S. relief operation has won praise for reaching villages devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, which washed out roads and destroyed bridges. But Elmquist said he couldn't be sure what supplies the helicopters were delivering."
--------- What a pr*k.
What an idiot. That is STANDARD PRACTICE in the military. A supply vehicle is a target vehicle and so it helps to minimize the amout of time just sitting there.
Remember, according to the Europeans, the U.S. military aren't even there. They don't want to give our soldiers credit.
Right now the survivors need water, next food. There is very little time to spend asking the survivors what they need. It's on the next village, and the next, delivering the basics.
The U.S. relief operation has won praise for reaching villages devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, which washed out roads and destroyed bridges. But Elmquist said he couldn't be sure what supplies the helicopters were delivering."
Translation: The U.N. isn't able to get their cut of the aid supplies since our troops are getting them to the intended recipients too quickly.