Just the facts Mam, just the facts...
Hat tip to the Darn Floor for this one...This story is so factually inaccurate that I'm surprised that it made it past any editorial review. Or perhaps that is because it didn't get any editorial review. It takes only a minimal amount of research to learn the US (in the form of USAID and the US Navy), along with the Australians, Indians, and Japanese were the first to be on-site in the region providing food, water, medical care, and beginning the process of rebuilding infra structure.
Despite the UN's pronouncement in its news briefings, the reality is that the UN has yet to deliver any material or substantive (ie helpful) organizational aid to the victims of this disaster. It has, however, arranged for numerous meetings, reserved the entire first class suites of the five star hotels and arranged 24/7 catering for its staff. Of course I understand there are some hard feelings - the noise for the US and Australian helicopters flying by while delivering aid is disruptive for their meetings.
These errors of fact (and they are not minor since they provide the entire basis for the article) are insulting to the victims, our allies in aid, and in particular to the selfless sacrifice of our men and women in the armed forces and aid organizations who responded so readily and rapidly to this disaster. Their only mistake appears to be that their main focus has been on helping those in need instead standing in front of the cameras making self aggrandizing statements. How selfish and stingy of them.
This paper and in particular Eloise F. Chandler owes those personnel a deep and humble apology. I have no real hope that such will ever be delivered; the more important agenda here was to denigrate and bash President Bush, who is also owed an apology by the author. Criticize if you will, but please base it on the facts and not on reality as you wish it was.
I will point out one source from the US State Department; there are others from Australia and Japan as well. But I think I should expect even The Capitol Times to be able to Google search that far (for a change).
http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/
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