Italy's Disaster Chief Blasts 'Pathetic' U.S. Aid Work in Haiti

[OutHouse]

fuck this asshole. what exactly has Italy done to help haiti?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7001737.ece

Italy's top disaster official blasted the U.S.-led relief effort in Haiti as a "pathetic" failure that is turning a national tragedy into a "vanity show for the television cameras."

Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, told Italian television on Sunday that the U.S. military "tends to confuse military intervention with emergency intervention," and that despite the presence of 13,000 U.S. troops there, "no one is giving orders."

He said there is a danger that aid will be lost by the "inefficient" operation

 

[Fizzorin]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/754400

UNITED STATES: $130 million in aid, according to USAID. Has sent about 12,000 military personnel so far, 265 government medical personnel, 18 Navy and Coast Guard ships, 49 helicopters and seven cargo planes to assist in aid delivery, support and evacuations. Is managing operations at the Port-au-Prince airport.

ITALY: $8.14 million as part of $131.37 million in emergency aid from EU member states. Separately it is donating $2.57 million to international groups to help children in Haiti. A field hospital that can treat 150 patients a day has been airlifted in.

US monetary aid sent: slightly greater than 1 order of magnitude larger than Italian monetary aid sent.

Yeah, fuck you Italy.

 

[xj0hnx]

He's just mad because they stepped on his biscuits.

 

[Miramonti]

Whining about others' comments doesn't answer whether or we're doing a great job by our own standards with the money and resources that we've committed.

 

[Red Dawn]

Whining about others' comments doesn't answer whether or we're doing a great job by our own standards with the money and resources that we've committed.

Well if our standards are what happened in NOLA then I'd say were are doing a great job.

 

[StageLeft]

The US could be doing better almost certainly. And should be. But really fvck Italy. I think they're just trying to prevent the US from mistaking Naples for Haiti and sending troops in:

 

[Fern]

After two days of observations Mr Bertolaso told a RAI television interviewer that the relief effort showed that the international community was unable to mount an adequate disaster response and called for the appointment of a civilian international humanitarian co-ordinator.

So he's been there a whole two days and knows what everybody is doing and how well they are doing it? Riiiight.

I also get the feeling he's campaigning to get some new uber world-aid coordinator position created and that - surprise - he's the he only guy who can handle it.

Fern

 

[K1052]

We should militarize the country and kick everyone else the fuck out.

It would be a lot more efficient if we didn't have to deal with 30-40 other nations jockeying for press coverage of their aid helping out the Haitians more than another country.

 

[Patranus]

 

[NoCreativity]

So he's been there a whole two days and knows what everybody is doing and how well they are doing it? Riiiight.

I also get the feeling he's campaigning to get some new uber world-aid coordinator position created and that - surprise - he's the he only guy who can handle it.

Fern

Based on his extensive history responding to his natural disaster, in a country with good infrastructure, a fully functional government and funding from both government and aid sources, he is the best man to respond to a disaster in a country with little/none of that as well as magnitudes more dead and homeless.

Mr Bertolaso is close to Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, who has repeatedly praised him for his role in overseeing rescue efforts after the earthquake last April at L'Aquila in Abruzzo, which killed 294 people and left 40,000 homeless. The Premier sent Mr Bertolaso to Haiti on Friday to offer his expertise.

 

[Wreckem]

The problem isnt the US or UN or anyone. The problem is most of the government in Haiti is dead. The US and UN cannot do much without the central government authorizing things to be done.

 

[Zebo]

Not surprising. A huge endeavor like this with all the government agency back biting, procedures about procedure, weak leadership endemic these days, they pretty much fuck up anything.

 

[DaveSimmons]

He criticized a military-based approach, but with no effective police or national guard in Haiti sending in unprotected civilians could be a bloodbath.

I read this in the Seattle Times this morning and my second, more cynical thought matched Fern's, that he was campaigning for the leadership position he thinks it's necessary to create.

 

[heyheybooboo]

There is no such thing as an 'easy disaster' but what has happened in Haiti is several orders of magnitude greater than the L'Aquila earthquake.

And LOL at Italy's 'contributions' and their "... field hospital that can treat 150 patients a day."

Clearly 'Guido' is simply taking a cheap shot at the USA and our military.

And here is a little clue, Guido, about what a small mountain community and local organization has accomplished.

Kinda makes the pompous bravado look puny in comparison ...

 

[rudder]

He criticized a military-based approach, but with no effective police or national guard in Haiti sending in unprotected civilians could be a bloodbath.

Yeh, I do not see how something like this could be pulled off without the military. We have a lot of commercial cargo capacity in this nation, but it isn't available 24/7. It takes time to reroute/reschedule commercial aircraft. The military has the manpower and the equipment available to be headed where they are needed within hours.

Until the U.S. military started running operations at the airport... the place was a log jam.

Someone needs to go Tonton macoute on his ass.

 

[Regs]

If there is one thing that we are good at and that is throwing money into a fire.

 

[Regs]

Not surprising. A huge endeavor like this with all the government agency back biting, procedures about procedure, weak leadership endemic these days, they pretty much fuck up anything.

We have committees running agencies, agencies running committees, laws on forming agencies, laws at governing agencies and committees, and private organizations ran by agencies who make the laws. And when those agencies and private organizations screw up, people rise up and demand another governing committee and more supervision. It's historical.

We're the proverbial Titanic. We see the Ice Burg in our sights but were too damn big and rigid to maneuver around it anyway.

 

[werepossum]

The problem isnt the US or UN or anyone. The problem is most of the government in Haiti is dead. The US and UN cannot do much without the central government authorizing things to be done.

Actually in Haiti that's probably the only positive in the whole country. Starting with a fresh bunch would be an improvement. Actually just declaring the country to be part of the Dominican Republic would probably be the wisest thing to do. Depending on how much they would charge to take it, of course.

 

[Vic]

Heh... international populism.

 

[MotF Bane]

loltaly.

 

[JEDIYoda]

If there is one thing that we are good at and that is throwing money into a fire.

so are you saying that we should sit back and do nothing???

Oh..I get it...we should let the highly ineffective UN do something about it...ok!! I get it now!!

 

[werepossum]

so are you saying that we should sit back and do nothing???

Oh..I get it...we should let the highly ineffective UN do something about it...ok!! I get it now!!

LOL Hello, I'm from the UN and I'm here to run things. First off I'm going to need all your young girls - and maybe a few of your young boys as well. No, I didn't bring any food, but I've got a buttload of condoms and some blue flags.

 

[Kadarin]

LOL Hello, I'm from the UN and I'm here to run things. First off I'm going to need all your young girls - and maybe a few of your young boys as well. No, I didn't bring any food, but I've got a buttload of condoms and some blue flags.

Don't forget the blue helmets, they have lots of those.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

At this point why dont we just say fuck you guys if you think you can do it better go ahead, do it. Pull everything back and watch the trainwreck from our backyards

 

[Zargon]

LOL Hello, I'm from the UN and I'm here to run things. First off I'm going to need all your young girls - and maybe a few of your young boys as well. No, I didn't bring any food, but I've got a buttload of condoms and some blue flags.

hahaahahahhaah