WN: US accused of 'occupying' Haiti as troops flood in - Lond

[WorthyNewsBot]

France accused the US of "occupying" Haiti on Monday as thousands of American troops flooded into the country to take charge of aid efforts and security.

http://www.worthynews.com/top/telegraph-co...-flood-in-html/

[MorningGlory]

Note to French officials:

THIS IS WHAT WE DO; THIS IS WHY WE ARE SUCCESSFUL. Someone has to be in control down there with the government collapsed and no police presence.

I think the French are a little sensitive about their former colony??

[nikki1]

France accused the US of "occupying" Haiti on Monday as thousands of American troops flooded into the country to take charge of aid efforts and security.

http://www.worthynews.com/top/telegraph-co...-flood-in-html/

Geneva-based charity Medecins Sans Frontieres backed his calls saying hundreds of lives were being put at risk as planes carrying vital medical supplies were being turned away by American air traffic controllers

The diplomatic row came amid heightened frustrations that hundreds of tons of aid was still not getting through. Charities reported violence was also worsening as desperate Haitians took matters into their own hands.

The death toll is now estimated at up to 200,000 lives. Around three million Haitians

[nebula]

I think the French have a very good point. Five days after the disaster and multitudes of people still are not receiving food and water and medical care. People are dying because of this. Priorities need to be set. I read there is only room for 90 planes to land at the Haiti airport and the American traffic controllers should make way for those bringing in emergency supplies to save lives and get it distributed to the people. There are enough American troops there already from America...9,000-10,000, plus thousands of UN troops and supplies to the people in need should be moving alot faster. As of yesterday, people in Haiti were still desparate to receive life saving food and water and emergency supplies and when people are desparate, hungry and thirsty, that's when the trouble starts.

France had an entire life saving field hospital unit that was turned back and refused because the Americans refused to let them land. That's absolutely crazy and I don't blame the French at all.

Before you huff and puff at the American military, I would like to hear the reasons for this.

Why were the planes turned away?

OK - found something:

Among the difficulties faced by US military air traffic controllers in charge of the relief effort was the lack of a control tower or radar, combined with shortages of fuel and even staircases to access planes.

The Haitian government said that there was no room on ramps for planes to unload their cargo and that some aircraft on the ground did not have enough fuel to leave.

[MorningGlory]

I think the French have a very good point. Five days after the disaster and multitudes of people still are not receiving food and water and medical care. People are dying because of this. Priorities need to be set. I read there is only room for 90 planes to land at the Haiti airport and the American traffic controllers should make way for those bringing in emergency supplies to save lives and get it distributed to the people. There are enough American troops there already from America...9,000-10,000, plus thousands of UN troops and supplies to the people in need should be moving alot faster. As of yesterday, people in Haiti were still desparate to receive life saving food and water and emergency supplies and when people are desparate, hungry and thirsty, that's when the trouble starts.

France had an entire life saving field hospital unit that was turned back and refused because the Americans refused to let them land. That's absolutely crazy and I don't blame the French at all.

Before you huff and puff at the American military, I would like to hear the reasons for this.

Why were the planes turned away?

OK - found something:

Among the difficulties faced by US military air traffic controllers in charge of the relief effort was the lack of a control tower or radar, combined with shortages of fuel and even staircases to access planes.

The Haitian government said that there was no room on ramps for planes to unload their cargo and that some aircraft on the ground did not have enough fuel to leave.

"There's only so much concrete," US Air Force Colonel Buck Elton said. "It's a constant puzzle of trying to move aircraft in and out."

The Christian relief organisation Samaritan's Purse had three charter planes turned back.

"I don't think the airport has the capacity to take it," said its president Franklin Graham.

"We're looking at taking a ship out of Fort Lauderdale and putting everything on the ship. It'll take two days to get there, but I'm afraid it's going to take longer to try and go through the airport."

Although runway lights were working in Port-au-Prince for flights to continue through the night, pilots were having to land by sight because of the lack of radar.

US officials said that although around 120 flights had landed, commercial charters used to haul aid supplies were causing hold-ups because, unlike military planes, they took a long time to unload.

Outside the airport, aid distribution was also being further hampered because roads were blocked by rubble and smashed cars, while normal communications were cut off.

The port, which might otherwise have been able to ease the burden on the airport, was too badly damaged to handle cargo.

Source

I heard this on Fox this morning too. Because of the bottleneck of absolutely NO infrastructure, our military is having to resort to airlifting emergency supplies and dropping them from C-130s. No one's better equipped to handle this than our troops. We also have to consider the Venezuelans, Cubans or Chinese moving into the vacuum caused by a collapsed government. Another reason our military is there. But they are NOT occupying Haiti. The French are getting a little beside themselves here. Why would they even think that?

[nikki1]

I think the French have a very good point. Five days after the disaster and multitudes of people still are not receiving food and water and medical care. People are dying because of this. Priorities need to be set. I read there is only room for 90 planes to land at the Haiti airport and the American traffic controllers should make way for those bringing in emergency supplies to save lives and get it distributed to the people. There are enough American troops there already from America...9,000-10,000, plus thousands of UN troops and supplies to the people in need should be moving alot faster. As of yesterday, people in Haiti were still desparate to receive life saving food and water and emergency supplies and when people are desparate, hungry and thirsty, that's when the trouble starts.

France had an entire life saving field hospital unit that was turned back and refused because the Americans refused to let them land. That's absolutely crazy and I don't blame the French at all.

Before you huff and puff at the American military, I would like to hear the reasons for this.

Why were the planes turned away?

OK - found something:

Among the difficulties faced by US military air traffic controllers in charge of the relief effort was the lack of a control tower or radar, combined with shortages of fuel and even staircases to access planes.

The Haitian government said that there was no room on ramps for planes to unload their cargo and that some aircraft on the ground did not have enough fuel to leave.

[wyguy]

And we care what France has to say?

[nebula]

But the United Nations mission in the country has declared the search and rescue teams already in the nation are sufficient to handle to the task and the Texas team and others prepared to deploy would not be needed.

Well, that one is on the UN, not the US military.

Really, it is easy to be a arm chair critic.

the fact is the US as a government and as private organization and citizens are sending more aid to Haiti than any other country - unless you have a new figure that states otherwise?

If the US military didn't step in, who would do any coordinating?

I understand the coordination hasn't been perfect, but without being there, can you judge whether or not they could have coordinated better from the get-go?

[nikki1]

But the United Nations mission in the country has declared the search and rescue teams already in the nation are sufficient to handle to the task and the Texas team and others prepared to deploy would not be needed.

Well, that one is on the UN, not the US military.

Really, it is easy to be a arm chair critic.

the fact is the US as a government and as private organization and citizens are sending more aid to Haiti than any other country - unless you have a new figure that states otherwise?

If the US military didn't step in, who would do any coordinating?

I understand the coordination hasn't been perfect, but without being there, can you judge whether or not they could have coordinated better from the get-go?

Saving lives by getting food supplies, water and medical supplies is a top priority in any given natual disaster. Again, I am not blaming the American military.. I believe the fault lies with the UN who is directing the rescue operations. American troops at the airport are only following orders. As soon as France complained to the UN, the problem was resolved and the priorities at the airport changed to allow for emergency supplies to save lives as a priority. I don't have to be there. The fact that the US military changed their priorities to allow for emergency food supplies and medical equipment to be first tells me something was wrong from the get go.

Really, it is easy to be a arm chair critic.

I'm an arm chair critic because I voiced a life endangering concern? I am very happy that France complained to the UN because it got the UN's attention to do something about their priorities at the Haiti airport and that in itself is a good thing for the needy victims involved.

Blessings,

[nebula]

The fact that the US military changed their priorities to allow for emergency food supplies and medical equipment to be first tells me something was wrong from the get go.

You may be right.

All I am saying is I want to know what the problem was before passing judgment.