Food drops reach victims (CNN)

[Waiting For Everyman]

The Political Videos Forum will only take clips from YouTube, so I'm posting this here.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/16/vo.chopper.drop.chaos.cnn

I wonder why this couldn't have been done a few days ago, and much more of it?

I'm glad to see not only that beginning today, but Pres. Obama's statement that, "... my national security team understands that I will not put up with any excuses for us not doing the very best in this time of tragedy." (emphasis added)

Exactly - that's how some of us here feel too. That statement might have something to do with the food drops starting (finally). And it isn't impossible that the President's statement and Gen. Honore's statement (both in the story link below) might have been related too. Good on both of them, and our troops who were there to drop the food too.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/14/haiti.us.aid/index.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. They started yesterday, doing short haul

and they stepped up the tempo today

They had this little problem. UNTIL YESTERDAY when the Vinson showed up, they did not have the lift, read choppers, capability.

Now that her escorts have caught up, you add more choppers

And when the other Navies catch up, some are bringing even more choppers with heavy lift capabilities.

[Waiting For Everyman]

2. I understand - what you're saying.

But I did see a report shortly after the quake, that at least one of the first-arriving vessels - Coast Guard and maybe another - had choppers. Some were there, very early into this.

[Hannah Bell]

3. yes, us coast guard helicopters, 25 helicopters from the dominican republic, plus

helicopters from other sources.

it was happening, but our media didn't see fit to cover it, possibly because the us wasn't doing it.

&, according to du experts, it was impossible to drop supplies because people would riot & kill each other.

carl vinson arrived thurs pm & its helicopters in service friday am, btw.

[TheMightyFavog]

4. They were talking about drops from cargo planes like the C-130

With helicopters, you have a LOT more control with drops.

[Leopolds Ghost]

7. :-) "according to du experts, it was impossible"

I love you, Hannah Bell! :rofl: :hug:

And the 82nd Airborne is not Airborne yet: because of Afghanistan and the immoral occupation of Iraq! which all too many Dems let slide -- Gates went over there to prevent the Iraqi parliament from voting on an early US departure!

[BeFree]

5. Obama

You can bet he is pissed. He had to listen to the brass give excuses. Heck, the 82nd Airborne is still not airborne!!

There are still a lot of people without food and water, more than 100 hours later.

It is not the fault of the boots on the ground in Haiti, it is the military planners and the brass that are dragging their feet.

Imagine what it would have been like if the media wasn't covering the lack of relief. Good job media.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Here We Go Again...

There have been various posts from people who have experience with airlifts and how difficult these things are for various reasons.

First...there was a lack of any civil authority...no security and a drop would not only create a riot but endanger those on the ground. There needs to be a distribution system on the ground for an airlift to be effective and that was difficult considering most roads were impassible.

Next, you had to coordinate such a drop...you just don't load MREs and let loose. Overall, I think the gear-up over the past few days has been extraordinary...and we're starting to see positive results. It's not like a hurricane where you had several days notice...this disaster happened quickly and it took a day or so to figure out what was needed and where. Again, we're dealing with a country with little infrastructure and destruction over a wide area...order had to be established, materials located and put on ships and planes and then to find ways to distribute the aid where it goes to those who need it the most.

I'm proud of this country's quick response to this crisis....from the millions being raised by individuals to the hard work being done by government and private sector people on the ground. This was a difficult situation from the get-go and I suspect we've turned the corner on the immediate threats...but this is the start. Now let's see what plans there are to help this country build (there wasn't much to rebuild) a better and stronger country.

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. Another horribly sad story from the AP file photos :-(

A surgical glove marked with a sad face sits next to the leg of Mardoche Fevri, a 6-year-old, on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, whose mother left her to the care of international doctors caring for many other quake victims, in Jacmel, Haiti. According to her nurse, her mother said she had five other children who needed her attention. Fevri, however, did not warrant her care and was abandoned. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Carl Juste)

:cry: