Mission impossibly too slow
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According to the US military, the problem that led to a slow initial response to the disaster is that the military should take the lead in such circumstances instead of the State Department and the US Agency for International Development. Lt General Russel Honore, a retired army general who led the military relief effort after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, expressed his anger at America's slow response and admits that the USAID is not a "rapid deployment unit."
The retired general said: "The next morning after the earthquake, as a military man of 37 years of service, I assumed there would be airplanes delivering aid, not troops, but aid. What we saw instead was a discussion about, 'Well we've got to send an assessment team in to see what the needs are.' And anytime I hear that my head turns red."
It is little wonder tempers started to flare in Haiti also as desperation gripped the survivors of this destitute city. While some of the homeless piled up dead bodies to form a road block in protest to the lack of emergency help, it is hard too imagine these people are as understanding of Obama's "it takes time" statement. One survivor expressed his frustration by the lack of aid, saying: "We have been waiting for three or four days, we can't do anything. We can only do our best, but what can we do?"
The United States is no stranger to being criticized for responding slowly to natural disasters, most memorably in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which confirmed President George W Bush's reputation as being administrative incompetent.
In contrast, the efficiency China dealt with their own earthquake in 2008, which caused mass destruction and killed thousands, was praised for its well-management and professionalism – a world apart from the appalling reaction following the earthquake that hit the eastern city of Tangshan in 1976. After demonstrating its proficiency in handling such disasters, demands have inevitably been made on China to become actively involved when a similar crisis hits another country. Responding to this demand, in the wake of the Haitian earthquake, immediate aid tactics and relief efforts were employed by China to help the devastated country. While I believe the Obama administration's commitment and dedication to coordinating relief in Haiti can be praised, there was arguably disparity between the colossal scale of help needed in Haiti and the quickness of the response. An endless number of rescue workers have subsequently admitted that the first 48 hours is crucial in any rescue mission. Although many may disagree that the US's response was "too slow" and with report after report saying help "was on its way" days the disaster struck, it is easy for armchair onlookers like myself to feel a sense of anger and frustration.
