Former U.S. President Clinton asked to take leadership role in Haiti quake relief

[cory777]

Source: Reuters

By Patrick Worsnip – Wed Feb 3, 5:59 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations on Wednesday assigned former U.S. President Bill Clinton, now U.N. special envoy to Haiti, to coordinate international relief efforts in the earthquake-devastated country.

Clinton will seek to organize a mass of aid initiatives and offers that have poured in since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed up to 200,000 Haitians and made up to 1 million homeless on January 12, U.N. officials said.

Three weeks after the quake, a huge U.S.-led international relief operation has been struggling to help survivors. The United Nations, whose mission chief in Haiti and nearly 100 other staff were killed, has admitted early aid efforts were disorganized but says the situation is improving daily.

After meeting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asked him to assume the new task, Clinton said he was "pleased to take on an expanded role in the recovery efforts" and would learn from disasters like the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100203/wl_nm/us_quake_haiti_billclinton_3

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Just saying, "Keep an eye on the money."

[EFerrari]

1. Is there no leader in Haiti that could have taken this role?

:shrug:

[sandnsea]

2. Why?

Clinton has never been accused of any kind of financial fraud as far as spending goes. This is what he does, he's organized deliver of AIDS medications and clinics all over the world. There's nobody better for this job than Bill Clinton.

[Mithreal]

3. That question deserves a response. I am waiting for one too.

[cory777]

4. That's a whole lot of money.

With very little checks and balances. Haiti's banking system is in shambles. Money tends to get lost due to 'incompetence' in these crisis situations.

[sandnsea]

5. And that has what to do with Bill Clinton? n/t

[Sherman A1]

8. Agreed

Seems to be a rather serious swipe at the former President. He has his faults as do we all, but this has never been one of them.

Seems a very mean spirited comment.

[Raine]

6. "Keep an eye on the money."???

:wtf: President Clinton is no thief!!! :argh:

[EFerrari]

7. Bill Clinton was out there drumming up private investors for Haiti last fall.

Haiti doesn't need to privatize anything else. Their government has been privatized out of existence.

And, Bill Clinton helped facilitate the collapse of the Haitian ag sector in exchange for bringing Aristide back. Their rice farmers went out of business and now we dump our subsidized product there.

He's not a thief but he's been no friend of the Haitian economy or the Haitian people. Why is he back?