America's Relationship to Haiti
75Plot or Peaceful Purpose?
As another Hubber,Springboard, has suggested, US and other nations' military troops are sent into a disaster area, because these individuals have the ongoing training demanded for organization, rescue, and cleanup in emergency situations. Other First Responders should include protective services personnel whose professions are firefighting, flood control, and emergency medical treatment, among others. Besides other volunteers having these services, the US military forces have all of them, always fully trained.
During the first days of the Haiti Earthquakes from January 12-18, military, firefighting, and law enforcement men and women on volunteer duty joined volunteers from Church on the North Coast in Lorain OH and other congregations around the MidWest and elsewhere at Wright Patterson Air Force/Air Guard Base in Fairborn OH to sit and wait for days in order to to deploy. Organization does not work when there is no place to land your planes. Haiti airport in Port-au-Prince was damaged and congested.
First on the scene were non-profit humanitarian organizations, but the media did not cover then very widely with publicity. First on the seen was LeSea® from South Bend Indiana and its partners from Central Ohio. They lauchned their ocean-liner sized ship around 7:00 PM EST and harbored it in the devastated nation while contacts with private planes few volunteers into the Dominican Republic and many walked into Haiti, carrying supplied and tents. Dozens of other faith-based abd secular humanitarian groups followed into the Dominican Republic and took buses into Haiti.
The point is that humanitarian manpower equals or outnumbers military forces sent to Haiti to treat the earthquake situation and its aftermath. Mercy Chefs, which organized at the start of Hurricane Katrina, is waiting for instructions on how to get in and to bring food and water. They are ready to prepare meals for volunteers and victims as they did in New Orleans and Mississippi. At the beginning of the second week of the earthquake disaster, dozens of Catholic organizations arrived in Haiti and Dominican Republic to help the people and to take orphans to Florida. Volunteers from many denominations are now in Haiti to help at this writing (Jan. 22).
Several non-faith-based humanitarian groups are also in Haiti as well, with many more waiting in the que for instructions on how best to travel to Haiti and help.
When we ask if the military (meaning America) is trying to take over Haiti, we might just as judiciously ask if churches or non-sectarian nonprofits are trying to take over the country and to what end.
Reasons For a Takeover
If a US military takeover of Haiti were to occur, the action could be based on the fact that Haiti is very near Cuba. The US maintains a trade embargo and scant interaction with Cuba, because of its Communist government. Perhaps America could then "surround" Cuba or at least trap it among Florida and US military bases on (potential 51st State?) Haiti, and bases on Puerto Rico. Thus, if America wants to capture Haiti, it has reason to do so from that angle.
Military Bases
Puerto Rico
- Fort Buchanan (US Army)
- USCG Air Station Borinquen
Haiti
- 1891 - US troops sent to quell a rebellion.
- 1915- Occupation ordered by US President Woodrow Wilson. The US Marine Corps arrived in Haiti in 1915 to restore and maintain order after 6 Haitian heads of state left off, each killed or exiles. Occupation lasted until 1934, about 20 years..
- 1994 - Military blockade involving Haitian government and troops..
- 2004 and 2005- US Marines maintained a presence in Haiti after President, Aristide was ousted.
- January 2010 - US Troops landed on the grounds of the Haitian Presidential Palace. “We can’t do it without them,” said Ms. Pierre-Louis, the former prime minister. “This country has been mismanaged for the last 50 years, and if we can’t run the country well in normal times how can we do it now?” [reference: NY Times, January 19, 2010. US Troops Patrol Haiti, Filling Void. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/americas/20haiti.html?pagewanted=2]. In addition, 125 US Marines landed and distributed food and water south of Port-au-Prince in the farming town of Leogane.
The NY Times further reported in the same article that on Tuesday 1/19, vendors were selling fruits and vegetables intheir street stalls and automobile traffic was increasing in Port-au-Prince. However, a second earthquake occured on Wednesday 1/20/2010. It is not likely that Haiti can recover form the additional compounding catastrophe without military aide.
Image
Unfortunately, under the George W, Bush administration, America became firmly associated in many minds with military takeover, Corporate America, and QVC-like addictive shopping.
When US troops arrived on the lawn of the Haitian presidential palace, some or all of the crowd of Haitians standing nearby cheered, but viewers of television and youtube saw a military takeover.
Port-au-Prince Airport January 16, 2010
Nuclear Testing History
 | Amazon Price: $24.01 List Price: $39.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $9.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $1.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $24.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $10.00 List Price: $17.50 |
Doctors and Nurses
Chavez asked why we sent troops and not doctors? Hubber Springboard reminds us.We did send doctors - immediately with LeSea®. The only way to get them faster is to teletransport. Catholic organizations immediately sent doctors and nurses. Doctors without Borders sent them and even my own doctors went. Meanwihile, military and medical help was also stuck at WPAFB. The Dayton OH Newspapers were full of articles describing the volunteers' and troops' frustration with having no place to land their planes int he disaster area. The large US military hospital ship Hope and others like it are in Haiti at this writing.
Chavez feels, or is at least using propaganda to report that, the USA caused the Haiti Earthquakes with a secret weapon. That news story from January 21, 2010 is at: Hugo Chavez Mouthpiece Says U.S. Hit Haiti With 'Earthquake Weapon'. If the US is this close to weather control by experimental shockwave, then we can expect additional disaster. Nuclear testing, in fact, did cause a wide range of problems above ground and below ground earlier in our history.
Whether or not earthquakes can result from a shockwave system, many people will be watching in coming weeks for more evidence to substantiate this possibility in America. They will also be looking at how many military troops the US has in Haiti. USA may not have enough troops in the area for a takeover, but some individuals feel that these numbers could increase toward that number required.
AdditionsLoading...
Well, I don't think we have that secret weapon, but after the nuclear testing effects (cancer, etc.) and some other things, I can see how people WOULD believe it.
Hi Patty,
It really is easy for people to forget that when disaster strikes it is easier for the military to mobilise to help than almost any other organisation. I can only go off the most recent local example: the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. Australia is very close to Indonesia, and Darwin is an easy flight away from Sumatra. Within 24 hours of the news reaching us there were Hercules C130 transports flying out of Sydney's Richmond Airbase (that airbase is their main staging area) for Darwin loaded to the gills with relief supplies, which is a 5 hour flight. The government, in the meantime, were negotiating access with their Indonesian counterparts. Australian and New Zealand troops were the first on the ground with relief supplies. They weren't there for a take over, either. They were there to help.
Darwin remained one of the major staging areas during the relief operation, because they had working facilities, and we had a couple of frigates helping as well. They had helicopters which could get into locations otherwise cut off, including outlying islands. A lot of this was arranged ahead of the bulk of the relief organisations, and the US becoming involved. But that was because we happened to be close by, and unaffected by the tsunami, and in a position to help. So we did.
Sometimes the troops come in to help, not to shoot. I think you're right about the damaged reputation not helping in this case, though.
I'm sure if the same thing happened to a country, say, close to Britain, they would do the same thing. I wonder if the response would be the same.
Chavez has to make these statements to stay in power. US is doing the right thing here trying to help the victims. Always US is the first to rush and help, rest of the countries don't do the same but they know how to whine like Chavez and France's Sarkozy.
Thanks for the Hub, Patty. Chavez is crazy, of course. Don White
Interesting Hub Patty, a terrible tragedy. It's a bewildering that people want to believe conspiracy theories over it.
Oh, my! What is really behind Chavez's hatred of us? I don't get it.
Thanks for a great piece. It was really interesting. I had never thought of most of this. Then again I hate politics and so much of it all hits that area.
I don't know what to make of it. You still see people begging for food and drinks. Yet you read about so many rescue operating in the area. Thank yu for informative hub.
@Hovalis - Thank you for posting your insightful response. Myhat is off to Australia and Zealand!
@Don - Crazy or wily...
@cgull8m - I agree with you and I remember tiny Bangladesh sending us money during Katrina.
@shinkicker - I suppose there is always a chance the consipracy theories are correct, but it makes for good tv drama.
@RGraf - I think it's just usual politics - sounds like pro wrestlers or Leno and Letterman shooting mouths at one another.
@Hello, hello -- I don;t know how many werer affected inthe 2nd quake, but 3,000,000 in the first. Our cargo ship went twice with food for 250,000 people each time and barely made a dent. And now we have military and other workers to fee, too. I'll find out tonight what's going on at the orphanage.
Yes Chavez is sane and not willing to bow down to US power.
For those who dont know about Haarp then check it out before you ever say its not possible to control the weather. It is not good to make bold statements without checking out a lot more of the available info.
By the way, the USSR experimented with cloud seeding in the 1950s in order to produce weather changes (precipitation of one sort or another). Each rocket launch and bomb explosion distors the movement of the axis of the earth and likely has a cuumulative effect, therefore weather changes. I don't believe we have an earthquake weapon yet.
Chavez is an idiot. Reminds me of another idiotic statement by a national leader - Iran's president, I believe - who said the Holocaust never happened.
And anyway, we would not test a weapon like that on Haiti. Look at 9-11... we'd test that bad boy on our own people! Doesn't Chavez realize that?? (Smile)
Funny and sad at once!
Thanks for the Hub,however it's alarge catheter ..i'm really sad
Patty very informative hub but may I offer a few points of interest to be considered. First your hub seems to almost imply that the hatian people would welcome the US government with open arms. Nothing can be further from the truth. Throughout its history Haiti has refused overtures both by military and diplomatic efforts from France, Spain, and the US. The current occupation of Haiti by the US via the UN is seen as a attempt by the US Government to control the Island. America has tampered with the government of Haiti since 1920 and removed their duly elected President by force (Aristide)against the will of the people of Haiti. This was done to install a US chosen head of state and to continue it occupation.
The poverty and economic failings of the island of Haiti can be traced back to America's continued efforts to maintain instability in the country in order to gain control. While American's may not be able to understand the role America plays in Haiti, Haitians do.
Thanks for the additional information and insights. US has certianly made its presence in Haiti concrete for many years.
I've been watching the news broadcasts and seeing teams from many countries trying to help in Haiti, and all seem frustrated. Tents everywhere, but not yet enough tents; problems getting trucks unloaded; UN medical teams frustrated with many aspects of treatment and followup; all sorts of holdups everywhere.
Dim Flaxenwick Level 7 Commenter 2 years ago
I'm almost speechless. Is Chavez sane?