Saturday, January 16, 2010

Haiti Day 4


NYT reported:

“There are 200 flights going in and out every day, which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti,” said Jarry Emmanuel, the air logistics officer for the agency’s Haiti effort. “But most of those flights are for the United States military.

He added: “Their priorities are to secure the country. Ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync.”

I wrote on Day 1:

NGO's have the mission, but less capacity. America's military has the capacity, but not the mission.

That seems to be playing out. Obama promised "slow and steady progress" in this morning's White House event with ex-Presidents George W. Bush & Bill Clinton.

WaPo reported:

A State Department spokesman said the U.S. government is focusing on "what does Haiti need for the next 30 days, what does Haiti need for the next six months."

People in Haiti are in urgent need of water, food, shelter and medical attention. I hope it's better than slow and steady. Many Haitians don't have 30 days, much less 6 months.

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