Posted on 01/05/2005 4:53:00 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
Professional critics have decried President Bush’s three-day “delay” in reacting to the tsunami disasters. But if the President used that time to understand the dimensions of the disaster, and to keep the United Nations from controlling relief efforts, every minute was justified. When the UN handles dollars, tens of millions disappear. When the UN handles protection and relief, tens of thousands of people die.
Instead of leaving money and authority to the UN, the US created a “core group” with Japan, Australia and India. The lead personnel are the military of those nations. That makes sense, because military units are trained to move men and materials and to provide food and medical care as they go.
The difference between a US-led relief effort and a UN-butchered one was just demonstrated in Indonesia. US helicopters were flying tons of water, food and other supplies into areas otherwise unreachable, while UN bureaucrats were holding “coordinating meetings” at five-star hotels far from the ravaged coasts.
Meantime, a group of white, liberal, American Democrats, led by former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, held a hush-hush meeting in New York with Kofi Annan. The UN Secretary General was instructed to attend without his aides, for a candid discussion of how to “save” his career and “save” the UN.
The condescension of holding this meeting, trying to hide it from the press, and thinking its purposes can be accomplished, is staggering. Annan and the UN have yet to come clean on the Oil for Food scandal, the biggest financial scandal in history. The idea that the UN can survive with Annan at the helm and sweep that scandal under the rug should be recognized as insane by any professional politician, even ones who still cannot understand why John Kerry’s campaign sank like a brick in a well.
But the subject is broader than this disaster and the UN. Deaths from the tsunamis in Asia and Africa now stand at about 150,000. Numbers will rise, as more are discovered missing and some survivors die of preventable causes before relief efforts are complete. Total deaths will approach 200,000.
That is horrendous. The American press, however, is incompetent as usual in putting this story in context. This is not the worst national disaster in recent times. It is not even one of the top ten in the last century. Anyone who wants to know more about comparative natural disasters than the average member of the MSM (mainstream media) should Google “natural disaster” along with China, then India, then Bangladesh.
There is one supreme irony in the international reactions to the role of the United States in relief efforts for survivors of the tsunamis. Some incredibly stupid people have called the US “stingy,” which I wrote about last week. President Bush showed tremendous restraint when he called the first author of such comments “misinformed.”
One duty of every President is restraint in responding to bigotry and ignorance by other international speakers. For instance, however well-deserved it might be, no President should call the French “ungrateful, arrogant, unwashed b*stards.”
I raise this subject for a different reason. By and large, the same international “leaders” who denigrate the charitable efforts of the United States are the same who attack the US for its “unjustified” actions against Saddam Hussein. Any reporter smart enough to make that connection should make an additional connection.
The tsunami disaster is horrible, at 200,000 deaths. These floods were a natural phenomenon. Saddam Hussein has deliberately murdered at least 500,000 people.
Therefore, if it is important that the world pay attention and help the survivors of the tsunamis, it is more important that the world act to end the murders in Iraq. And while we’re on that subject, North Korea has murdered about 2 million of its own people plus a few thousand citizens of other nations.
Still, much of the world clings to the benighted view that the US should have negotiated more with Hussein, and should negotiate further with North Korea. Any competent observer should realize it is as useless to negotiate with a mass murderer, as with a tsunami on its way across an ocean.
Both will continue on their path until their power dissipates. Both will kill all in their path until that time.
So, the tsunamis in Asia and Africa are a triple disaster. A disaster for the people killed in a few terrible hours. A second disaster for those who will die of disease in the next month. A continuing disaster in the death of millions of people around the world from avoidable causes, because the lessons of these tsunamis were not learned and acted upon.
About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. CongressmanBillybob@earthlink.net
John / Billybob
Our efforts truly deserve more good news like this. Thank you.
"no President should call the French “ungrateful, arrogant, unwashed b*stards.”
I agree. So please allow me.
The French are ungrateful, arrogant, unwashed bastards.
As of today, the UN is in charge of relief efforts.
The story behind that should be fascinating.
I will wait for another book like Patrick Moynihan's A dangerous Place.
Ditto!
I respectfully have to disagree here, Congressman.
The UN Oil For Fraud program is a perfect example you can negotiate with a mass murderer if you have something he wants and are willing to be bought off for it.
You and a mass murderer (under the right circumstances) can scratch each others' backs and mutually get something out of it.
Try that approach with a tsunami wave!
The President does not hold the nation's purse strings, Congress does. The President cannot simply unilateraly allocate funds to this disaster. In fact, I understand the $350 million he did pledge was the entire amount previously appropriated by Congress in the budget for all emergency relief (including domestic tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes.) His initial pledge of $35,000 must have been an allocation they originally found that could be unsed for foreign relief purposes. I understand that the President's pledge has now been approved by the newly covened Congress.
Detractors of the President's actions lack a fundamental understanding of how our governmental system works.
I haven't seen the details. Maybe it's just a cosmetic sop. All the people DELIVERING the aid should be Americans, wearing American uniforms. The people who are getting help should know where that aid is coming from
Billybob
It is unconstitutional to take our tax money and give it to foreigners. That is left to the states and the people.
Altho I'm sure the tsunami tragedy is severe, and not wanting to sound like a sceptic, just how in the world are they coming up with these 140,000 dead figures? Is the world getting scammed? Is there really any way to come up with these incredible figures? Is it remotely possible that, especially since the UN wants to be the distributor of the largess (viz. Oil for Food), maybe this is a big-time money grab by the 3rd world, and that perhaps many people are going to get incredibly rich from this? Is there a major redistribution of wealth occurring right now? Am I being sinful with my doubting mind?
Yes, this tragedy is real. It will only turn into a giant scam if the UN gets its hands on the money.
Billybob
A few additional notes:
* The US, with our solid traditions of independent, individual, private, tax deductable giving, naturally has a low *government aid* figure vis a vis this disaster than the Euro nanny states. I read that we are over 200M in terms of non governmental giving, *thus far* in the US!
* How much are our military efforts to render aid costing? That's no chump change. Gee, how many German, French, Swedish and Norwegian ships, choppers and planes are down there right now? Hmmmmmm ......
* Now for the non PC. A number of the governments besides Indonesia both knew about the high probability of a tsunami strike and did nothing. In the case of Thailand, there was apparently fear that a false alarm would be bad for tourism. Not sure what the deal was with India and Sri Lanka. In any case, if *I* had been sitting there, knowing there had been a subduction zone earthquake off of Sumatra, I would have issued a warning. People in high places in every affected country knew about the earthquake minutes after it happened, what with all the seismo stuff on the web these days. Hmmmmm ....
* Well, the images of our real, substantial, hands on aid cannot be stopped. I heard Mr. Coffee stayed on the ski slopes for a few days after the disaster. Hmmmmmmm ....
When did this meeting take place? I thought it was before the election. Was it more recent than that?
"Am I being sinful with my doubting mind?"
No. You have every reason to believe an ample portion of any given funds will be misappropriated.
You are sane. Praise the Lord and give thanks for it.
I dunno, congersman, them demmycrats got away with rape, adultery, watching Rwanda tear itself to bits, and selling secret military technology to our enemies. It's not a fur stretch to expect them to believe that they think they can extend the same longevity to ol' Kofi.
How many vietnamese people were bombed, shot and killed by US army?
Please tell us more about natural disasters more important that the last tsunami in south asia. Which ones?
Good article. Thanks.
Secret Meeting, Clear Mission: 'Rescue' U.N. -- The apartment gathering on Dec. 5
Any "article" that purports:
"US helicopters were flying tons of water, food and other supplies into areas...", while "a group of white, liberal, American Democrats, led by former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, held a hush-hush meeting in New York with Kofi Annan..." - when this meeting actully took place on Dec. 5/04 - can hardly be considered a "good" article.
Yes, by post 16, the "author" fessed up. Sort of.
Very shoddy stuff. And given the fact that the UN "took the lead" about an hour ago PST, it's not just shoddy - it's now become entirely moot. (Not to mention it kind of reflects bad on the part of the author - as well as FR.)
I agree. I know it makes me sound cold hearted, and
maybe I am. I'm just tired of watching our money go
overseas to one disaster or another. In a few years,
I'll get to collect whatever is left for social security,
I've worked and paid in for 40 years now. How about our
elected officials think about those of us in this
country before giving (what isn't theirs) to people
who may not use it for what we intended, and certainly
won't appreciate the gift for more than a month or two
until the next problem.
There are a lot more dead than 140,000. That figure is just what they have counted. My estimate has been 500,000 from the beginning. You need to remember than some of these countries don't have a good count to begin with.
"I know it makes me sound cold hearted, and
maybe I am."
Several have accused me of being hard hearted etc., but we cannot discard our common sense or our Constitution in foreign aid. The emotionalism being promoted by the left just weakens us and aids some of our enemies. Bandeh Aceh was a terrorist base.
thanks for replying. Unfortunately when I did the Google search which you suggest in your article, i did not find anything... Have you got some links?
Gotcha. And agreed.
Your question seems a little suspicious to me.
If it's actually just a question, I apologize.
However, the number of South Vietnamese people (fighting for their freedom) bombed, shot and otherwise killed by the US Army, Navy and Air Force may number in the tens of thousands.
The number of South Vietnamese people shot, burned, hacked and starved to death by the communist enslavers numbers in the millions.
This is so typical of the Dem's machinations. They cling to their floating fragments of sinking ships, when perfectly good life rafts are rowing past them.
Is it "ego" that prevents them from "moving on", or is there more to this than meets the eye?
Ego? Perhaps.
More like these guys are used to pocketing free money from OFF and other venues.
"Still, much of the world clings to the benighted view that the US should have negotiated more with Hussein. . .any competent observer should realize it is as useless to negotiate with a mass murderer, as with a tsunami on its way across an ocean.
"Both will continue on their path until their power dissipates. Both will kill all in their path until that time." These words needed restating for obvious reasons. Thanks!
However, if you're going to criticize the author of this thread, make certain you don't use shady methods to try to devalue his article.
If you will re-read, you will see that he did not say the helicopters were delivering aid WHILE (your claim) the secret meeting was being held. What he said was:
"Meantime, a group of white, liberal, American Democrats, led by former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, held a hush-hush meeting in New York with Kofi Annan."
Most of us knew already that the meeting was held earlier in December, because we saw the interview which revealed it. Besides, "meantime" could mean "the day before," or even, "six months ago."
You see, Ol' Congressman BillyBob is not the uninformed 'hick' his pseudonym might imply to a Northeastern Liberal Elite, or to a defender of one.
I am certain that, from prior dust-ups, the US will never put US military people under the command of anyone but another American. My article was published before the UN announcement.
And, of course, there is nothing "moot" about saying that the UN is both dishonest and corrupt. Those are very lively subject, even if you read the New York Times (inside pages next to the pet obituaries).
Your comment reflects poorly on you. Nothing in my article reflects poorly on me or FreeRepublic.
Have a nice day.
Billybob
What part of europe are you from?
Here are a few of the biggest natural disasters in a list, many with greater numbers of deaths than the recent tsunami.
http://across.co.nz/WorldsWorstDisasters.html
We may be having a regional problem with semantics, here.
In most dictionaries, and in the north, "meantime," when used as a noun, is the time interval between two events. When used as an adverb, "meantime" refers specifically to "during the interval between two specific events or times."
In the south, on the other hand, "meantime" is frequently applied to the time period before the commencement of a single event. It's a subtle difference, but it can lead to misunderstandings.
***Disclaimer: this response should in no way be construed as support of Cedex' other comments.
I think the way it is written, the use of "meantime" is used as "simultaneously".
This version is used widely all over television, such as: "So Tiger Woods winds up with 4 on #12, and in the meantime Sergio Garcia has hit a beautiful drive on 8, let's look at it"
Yet another is a series of fine prose. Thanks John.
Jamie
Pol Pot in Cambodia killed 2 million "dissenters" from 1975 to 78 after the US left SE Asia...
There were huge Earth quakes and floods in China in the late 80's and in the early 90's...I'll have to google to get the time lines. The Chinese were a bit coy as to the numbers dead but estimates were somewhere in the 500,000 to million range just from the great Yangtse River floods.
Iran has had several great quakes in the last three years with 100,000's dead or injured....they still managed to make a great stink about not accepting aid from Israel.
Ahhh but a great Tidal Wave that kills 200,000 people including a bunch of leftist, homo European tourists that take advantage of poverty stricken Asian boys....that's the most horrific calamity in all of history....according to the Western media. (Plenty of gruesome videos and pictures to look at as well!)
You can take your European 'POINT of View" and shove it
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