Posted on 01/12/2005 11:19:43 PM PST by kattracks
ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — The aircraft carrier leading the U.S. military's tsunami relief effort steamed out of Indonesian waters yesterday after the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions — part of a broad effort by Indonesia to reassert control over its territory.
The USS Abraham Lincoln's diversion, which was not expected to affect aid flights, came as the White House asked the Indonesian government to explain why it appears to be demanding that the U.S. military and other foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country by the end of March.[snip]
The Indonesian government said foreign troops would be out of the country by March 31. "A three-month period is enough, even sooner the better," Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday.
U.S. Marines have scaled back plans to send hundreds of troops ashore to build roads and clear rubble. The two sides reached a compromise in which the Americans agreed not to set up a base camp on Indonesia or carry weapons.
Instead, the Marines — about 2,000 of whom were diverted to tsunami relief from duty in Iraq — will keep a "minimal footprint" in the country, with most returning to ships at night, said Col. Tom Greenwood, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.[snip]
Under Navy rules, pilots of carrier-based warplanes cannot go longer than 14 days without flying, or their skills are considered to have degraded too far and they have to undergo extensive retraining.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
I didn't mind the debate but I found it extreemly disturbing that a few FReepers here would ping the admins and ask for threads to be pulled on the subject and make wild accusations of hate mongering.
Sorry,
my patience with satanic idiocy has reached a new low.
Leave em in the dust.
Let em cope with their own dead, wounded and shell shocked.
Let em cope with the consequences of refusing to pay attention to our warning 20 minutes after the big quake of a possible tsunami.
Let em cope with the consequences of their idiocies of biting the hand reaching down to lift them out of the sewers of chaos and literal sewers washing over their lives and hopes.
Let em cope with the consequences of arrogance, pride, pettiness and self-righteousness.
Cast them adrift and let God deal with them more directly and see how much they like that any better, or not.
God says that returning evil for good will result in evil never leaving that household.
I was being sarcastic about THEM not "allowing" us in their airspace. Not about the U. S. If that's what you thought I meant, I apologize.
They couldn't be more wrong. This is the core of why the UN is a complete failure: It does not exist to perpetuate itself but to foster good relations between nations. In this case, the UN should be standing up and telling the Indonesian government "Grow up and act like a responsible government and take the US assistance. You should be grateful."
Instead, Koffi Annan will smile that benevolent smile of his and gently say that this is why the US was wrong to go off on its own, and the UN itself will control the aid...to which America can be free to contribute.
The UN is like an emissary who believes he is not a carrier of messages from his employer but, because he's the one talking, the ORIGINATOR of those messages.
Well done, come on home. And when the New York Times bitches at Bush, we should tell them to knock off the political crap and write a few op-eds putting the blame where it belongs--the government of Indonesia, and the UN which no doubt will make sure it doesn't suffer anything for this silly. childish and petulant temper tantrum, putting its pride ahead of its people.
"Instead, Koffi Annan will smile that benevolent smile of his and gently say that this is why the US was wrong to go off on its own, and the UN itself will control the aid...to which America can be free to contribute. "
arrggg....Koffi Annan.....Yeah he will put us down while stuffing his pockets
http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/
After reading the latest on the UN outrage read the next sobering commentary
The Evil of Good? Thinking About Unintended Consequences
This blog is by people who are foreign service members.
You didn't limit your "rant" to Indonesia.
Dammit
Send em all home. Indonesia is a shithole enemy of ours.
Muslims!!!
Will the usual suspects criticize the lack of sympathy for the ungrateful muslims (And hindus, if any.) that were killed or survived the disaster? Will a Freepeer make a post like: "How dare you not have suficient sorrow (To suit me.) for these people. I used to live there. I know these people well. You are an ignorant a$$hole!"
Will we see a post like "How would you feel if the one and only French nuke carrier was able to boil up enough steam to make it to Florida to offer aid to hurricane victims, and it overstayed it's welcome? And the French had the gall to ask to do flight training in U.S. airspace?"
None of this will happen, will it?
"Will we see a post like "How would you feel if the one and only French nuke carrier was able to boil up enough steam to make it to Florida to offer aid to hurricane victims, and it overstayed it's welcome? And the French had the gall to ask to do flight training in U.S. airspace?"
Well you ASSUME we wouldn't be gratefull for the assistance first of all. And how have we overstayed our welcome...We just got there! All we wanted was for our boys to be able to continue to train. That's what they were doing before they were diverted. All we wanted was to keep our boys sharp by letting them continue to train. We would have still been delivering aid. Get a clue please!
"hey indo's you want our food and money well ya gotta have f-18 in your airspace as well, that the deal!!!.... we yanks get what we want and if we cant get well we take and make up excuses like WMD and then take so be carefull ungratefull inbreds..."
If you wish to stay on this site and spew nonsense..a bit of subtlety helps anti American diatribes get under the radar.
Probably more, like I know these people well. You are not a true Christian if you didn't donate.
No problem, but our money should go with us.
No they hate western civilization and its founders. It is not our behavior that they hate.
It is us.
They are implacable. The sooner people realize that the better off they will be.
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