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The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?

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posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 08:27 PM
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The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?



This is definitely worth the read... so take a look (full article link below)



Haiti has a longstanding history of US military intervention and occupation going back to the beginning of the 20th Century. US interventionism has contributed to the destruction of Haiti's national economy and the impoverishment of its population.

The devastating earthquake is presented to World public opinion as the sole cause of the country's predicament.

A country has been destroyed, its infrastructure demolished. Its people precipitated into abysmal poverty and despair.

Haiti's history, its colonial past have been erased.

The US military has come to the rescue of an impoverished Nation. What is its Mandate?

Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?

The main actors in America's "humanitarian operation" are the Department of Defense, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (See USAID Speeches: On-The-Record Briefing on the Situation in Haiti, 01/13/10). USAID has also been entrusted in channelling food aid to Haiti, which is distributed by the World Food Program. (See USAID Press Release: USAID to Provide Emergency Food Aid for Haiti Earthquake Victims, January 13, 2010)

The military component of the US mission, however, tends to overshadow the civilian functions of rescuing a desperate and impoverished population. The overall humanitarian operation is not being led by civilian governmental agencies such as FEMA or USAID, but by the Pentagon.

The dominant decision making role has been entrusted to US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

A massive deployment of military hardware personnel is contemplated. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has confirmed that the US will be sending nine to ten thousand troops to Haiti, including 2000 marines. (American Forces Press Service, January 14, 2010)

Aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson and its complement of supporting ships has already arrived in Port au Prince. (January 15, 2010). The 2,000-member Marine Amphibious Unit as well as and soldiers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne division "are trained in a wide variety of missions including security and riot-control in addition to humanitarian tasks."

In contrast to rescue and relief teams dispatched by various civilian teams and organizations, the humanitarian mandate of the US military is not clearly defined:

“Marines are definitely warriors first, and that is what the world knows the Marines for,... [but] we’re equally as compassionate when we need to be, and this is a role that we’d like to show -- that compassionate warrior, reaching out with a helping hand for those who need it. We are very excited about this.” (Marines' Spokesman, Marines Embark on Haiti Response Mission, Army Forces Press Services, January 14, 2010)


Read the full article here.

Of course like usual the US makes decisions for everyone else without consulting anyone but their own 'inner circle'

"While presidents Obama and Préval spoke on the phone, there were no reports of negotiations between the two governments regarding the entry and deployment of US troops on Haitian soil. The decision was taken and imposed unilaterally by Washington. The total lack of a functioning government in Haiti was used to legitimize, on humanitarian grounds, the sending in of a powerful military force, which has de facto taken over several governmental functions."

I'm so tired of the US govt. making these type of decisions without properly going through the procedures first, such as actually talking to the government they are supposedly helping before basically raiding it.

Think about it, I'm not necessarily saying that there's some sort of conspiracy involved here (although it's very possible), but now we have US military over on Haitian soil helping out of course, but is there a possible secret agenda that we are unaware of? Who knows. Either way I'm sure Haiti is thankful for the help, but how long will US military stay, with they overstay their welcome, which was never authorized in the first place by anyone except the US govt.?

Continued...

[edit on 16-1-2010 by highlyoriginal]



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 08:29 PM
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TABLE 1

US Military Assets to be Sent to Haiti. (according to official announcements)

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) and amphibious dock landing ships USS Fort McHenry ('___' 43) and USS Carter Hall ('___' 50).

A 2,000-member Marine Amphibious Unit from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and soldiers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne division. 900 soldiers are slated to arrive in Haiti by January 15th.

Aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson and its complement of supporting ships. (arrived in Port au Prince on January 15, 2010): USS Carl Vinson CVN 70

The hospital ship USNS Comfort

Several U.S. Coast Guard vessels and helicopters



USS Carl Vinson

The three amphibious ships will join aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and guided-missile frigate USS Underwood.


USS Normandy

Leading Role of US Southern Command

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) with headquarters in Miami is the "lead agency" in Haiti. Its mandate as a regional military command is to carry out modern warfare. Its stated mission in Latin America and the Caribbean is "to conduct military operations and promote security cooperation to achieve U.S. strategic objectives." (Our Mission - U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) The commanding officers are trained to oversee theater operations, military policing as well "counterinsurgency" in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the recent establishment of new US military bases in Colombia, within proximity of the Venezuelan border.

General Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command has defined the Haiti emergency operation as a Command, Control, Communications operation (C3). US Southern Command is to oversee a massive deployment of military hardware, including several warships, an aircraft carrier, airborne combat divisions, etc:

"So we're focused on getting command and control and communications there so that we can really get a better understanding of what's going on. MINUSTAH [United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti], as their headquarters partially collapsed, lost a lot of their communication, and so we're looking to robust that communication, also.

We're also sending in assessment teams in conjunction with USAID, supporting their efforts, as well as putting in some of our own to support their efforts.

We're moving various ships that we had in the region -- they're small ships, Coast Guard cutters, destroyers -- in that direction, to provide whatever immediate assistance that we can on the ground.

We also have a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, moving in that direction. It was at sea off of Norfolk, and so it's going to take a couple of days for it to get there. We need to also just resupply it and give it the provisions it needs to support the effort as we look at Haiti. And then we're looking across the international agencies to figure out how we support their efforts as well as our efforts.

We also are looking at a large-deck amphibious ship with an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit on it that will be a couple of days behind the USS Vinson.

And that gives us a broader range of capability to move supplies around, to have lift capability to help support the effort there also.

So bottom line to it is, we don't have a clear assessment right now of what the situation on the ground is, what the needs within Port-au-Prince are, how extensive the situation is.

We also, finally, have a team that's headed in to the airport. From my understanding -- because my deputy commander just happened to be in Haiti when this situation happened, on a previously scheduled visit. He has been to the airport. He says the runway is functional but the tower doesn't have communications capability. The passenger terminal -- has structural damage to it, so we don't know what the status of it is.

So we have a group going in to make sure we can gain and secure the airfield and operate from it, because that's one of those locations we think we're going to have a lot of the immediate effort from an international basis going into.

And then we're out conducting all the other assessments that you would consider appropriate as we go in and work this effort.

We're also coordinating on the ground with MINUSTAH, with the folks who are there. The commander for MINUSTAH happened to be in Miami when this situation happened, so he's right now traveling back through and should be arriving in Port-au-Prince any time now. So that will help us coordinate our efforts there also, because again, obviously the United Nations suffered a significant loss there with the collapse -- at least partial collapse of their headquarters.

So that's -- those are the initial efforts that we have ongoing And as we get the assessments of what's coming next, then we'll adjust as required.

The secretary of Defense, the president, have all stipulated that this is a significant effort, and we're corralling all the resources within the Department of Defense to support this effort." (Defense.gov News Transcript: DOD News Briefing with Gen. Fraser from the Pentagon, January 13, 2010)

A Heritage Foundation report summarizes the substance of America's mission in Haiti: "The earthquake has both humanitarian and U.S. national security implications [requiring] a rapid response that is not only bold but decisive, mobilizing U.S. military, governmental, and civilian capabilities for both a short-term rescue and relief effort and a longer-term recovery and reform program in Haiti." (James M. Roberts and Ray Walser, American Leadership Necessary to Assist Haiti After Devastating Earthquake, Heritage Foundation, January 14, 2010).

At the outset, the military mission will be involved in first aid and emergency as well as public security and police activities.

US Air Force Controls the Airport

The US Air Force has taken over air traffic control functions as well as the management of Port au Prince airport. In other words, the US military regulates the flow of emergency aid and relief supplies which are being brought into the country in civilian planes. The US Air Force is not working under the instructions of Haitian Airport officials. These officials have been displaced. The airport is run by the US Military (Interview with Haitian Ambassador to the US R. Joseph, PBS News, January 15, 2010)

"The FAA's team is working with DOD combat controllers to improve the flow of air traffic moving in and out of the airport. The US Air Force reopened the airport on 14 January, and on 15 January its contingency response group was granted senior airfield authority ... Senior airfield authority enables the Air Force to prioritise, schedule and control the airspace at the airport, ..." (flightglobal.com, January 16, 2010, emphasis added)

The 1,000-bed U.S. Navy hospital ship, USNS Comfort, which includes more than 1,000 medical and support personnel has been sent to Haiti under the jurisdiction of Southern Command. (See Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds readies for Haiti quake relief, Digital Journal, January 14, 2010). There were, at the time of the Earthquake, some 7100 military personnel and over 2000 police, namely a foreign force of over 9000. In contrast, the international civilian personnel of MINUSTAH is less than 500. MINUSTAH Facts and Figures - United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti


TABLE 2 continued in the article which can be read here.

[edit on 16-1-2010 by highlyoriginal]



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 08:29 PM
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I do not think it is a direct invasion but instead is a way to create Haiti as our toy in the region to help destablize Venezuela, Cuba and all other members of the Bolivarian Alliance. It is the perfect timing for the US to reassert our dominance in the Americas. S+F.



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 08:53 PM
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reply to post by Misoir
 


I see what you're saying. At this time I am personally unsure about what the motives are here, all I know is there is a hell of a lot of military forces heading to Haiti, which trust me, I am thankful that they are being helped, and wish I could do something to help myself, but really is there more too this?

I am going to try and find some more information so I can add a more detailed response to my own thread and maybe add the info to the OP or the thread at least. If anyone has any links relating to this, please add them.



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 08:59 PM
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reply to post by highlyoriginal
 


Also what makes me believe that something fishy is happening is compare Haiti to New Orleans during Katrina. It took us forever to get to New Orleans and we were acting like we didn't know what was going on and we even had pleanty of time to prepare because you can track a hurricane. But now Haiti is hit by an earthquake which is unpredictable and we are there immediately and sending in 10,000 troops and all kinds of support. It appears we care more about Haitians than we did about the people in New Orleans... I do not mean any offense to Haitians because I am part of the red cross but they never called on me to go to Haiti, I think they deserve all the help they are getting it just seems like alot of countries have interest here, especially the US. Just compare it to other major natural disasters and you will see there is something strange happening here.



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 09:05 PM
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Originally posted by highlyoriginal
This is definitely worth the read... s


Not really, just another anti USA rant. Who else has the planes and ships to get there? Who else is used to taking their own food, transport, sanitation facilities, accomodation, cooking facilities, power generating equipment, water purifucation equipment, medical expertise, able to provide their own local security, has a well tested communications network, has a chain of command that everyone knows, has well disciplined troops that are able to do many jobs, that were able to move there at a moments notice?

You will also find all the civilian rescue personel relying on the US military for food, transport, medical, local protection etc etc.

The same people would be attacking the USA if they did not respond in the same way!



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 09:10 PM
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Originally posted by highlyoriginal
I'm so tired of the US govt. making these type of decisions without properly going through the procedures first, such as actually talking to the government they are supposedly helping before basically raiding it.


I'm all for going thru official channels to get things done, but sometimes, you need to forget about them.

You're talking about the government, specifically the US Government. They are not known for doing anything fast (except for voting their own payraises). By the time they got their act together, how many more people will be dead???

Think about it this way: Who else has the means to get the supplies and aid to Haiti in the quickest way possible?



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 09:25 PM
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good thread.

Next Earthquake, CUBA.



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 09:26 PM
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i really don't think that there's much to exploit from haiti. i think this is one of the few instances where our country is acting benignly. that, and it's great pr for the Obama administration



posted on Jan, 16 2010 @ 09:36 PM
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Originally posted by jerico65
Think about it this way: Who else has the means to get the supplies and aid to Haiti in the quickest way possible?


I'm not stating that the US isn't there too help, but if you actually read the article there is much military being deployed. Why so much?

I understand there is relief needed, and I'm happy that the Haitians are getting the much needed help after the earthquake, but seriously take a look at all the forces we are deploying and what has already been deployed.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 07:21 AM
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Originally posted by highlyoriginal
I'm not stating that the US isn't there too help, but if you actually read the article there is much military being deployed. Why so much?


Because the military has the sea power and airplanes to respond the most rapidly ?


Originally posted by highlyoriginalThe overall humanitarian operation is not being led by civilian governmental agencies such as FEMA or USAID, but by the Pentagon.


FEMA's not in charge ? Isn't that a good thing ? The military is more competent than civilian govt for some tasks. And I think first reponse to this earthquake is one of them.


Originally posted by highlyoriginalThe dominant decision making role has been entrusted to US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).


SOUTHCOM is in Florida, so that makes sense, put someone with accountability and leadership in the role.

To answer the question, it's a humanitarian operation.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 10:44 AM
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It's very simple folks, the military comes in with supplies to help prevent riots, fights, and just straight out anarchy whic is what you would have when you have millions of people hurting, starving, and thirsting. The military brings order, not war. I can't believe such a thread would even be posted, I mean what does Haiti have that any country would want, it's the poorest country in the western world. Think before you post such erelevant, childish things.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 10:58 AM
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reply to post by Mr_skepticc
 





I mean what does Haiti have that any country would want


yeah...who would want a beautiful tropical island....especially after it's been cleansed of an 'undesirable' population?



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 10:58 AM
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reply to double post oops

[edit on 1/17/2010 by MissSmartypants]



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:01 AM
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I agree that this is a humanitarian effort at this point, and the US Navy is best equipped and able to get help and supplies there the fastest.

But, let's not forget, "Never waste a good crisis ..."



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:03 AM
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Uhhh...I don't know if you know this, but most of the Hatian government officials were killed in the quake...

Oh and would you prefer that we just refrain from helping a nation struck by a tragic earthquake with thousands dead and countless more homeless or injured? You're right, we should just sit here and twiddle our thumbs...

And on the issue of the military being mobilized: Have you seen the pictures from down there? This isn't a job the UN or some civilian aid workers can handle alone. This is a huge operation, like when the tsunami struck Indonesia.

I'd like to remind everyone, again, that not everything is a conspiracy.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:10 AM
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I think it is a good idea to have the military there handing out aid. Haiti is basically in chaos after the terrible earthquake. Our military can move swiftly in and help keep peace. It's articles like the following that make me feel it is a good idea that the military is there:

Two Dominican workers shot during relief efforts.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:11 AM
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Originally posted by Lou Minotti

i really don't think that there's much to exploit from haiti. i think this is one of the few instances where our country is acting benignly. that, and it's great pr for the Obama administration


Could they be prepping Haiti to be the next gitmo? Rarely if ever does our gov act benignly.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:14 AM
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I don't think there's much mystery here other than where the money winds up. You donate and who knows where it will go? Of course some of it will get where you think but a huge chunk of it? Think Katrina and 9/11 donations. That's where the conspiracies lie here. The money.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

The military being sent in is to protect those aiding on the ground. This country is rife with street thugs that shake down everyone. A human catastrophe would not stop their criminal ways, just spur them on. There needs to be an overwhelming show of strength to protect the lawful citizens and those attempting to help them. That's rather cut and dry in my opinion. That our actions show Cuba, Venezuela and China as uncaring socialist hives, que sera sera. Even our socialist-in-chief can't help himself here, he needs the positive press. It's good for every American to wear the white hat. This is what we do best, despite the fact that we lose our way now and then. Think Bush, think Katrina. They've even included him under this hat. More evidence of what I've been saying for over a year. One party in this country folks. It's right there, open your eyes.



posted on Jan, 17 2010 @ 11:17 AM
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I would like to support the posts stating that this is precisely what it is, a humanitarian effort. I am getting very tired of hearing the US's swift action here compared to Katrina. It seems to me as though emergency agencies have LEARNED something from Katrina- and are acting accordingly! Imagine the backlash if we, the people Haiti first called for help, decided to wait around a week or so before acting---but somehow people get suspicious of our quick response here?? Seriously?

It's really sad when people lose so much faith in their country that even when that country does something human, and good, it's still considered something negative. Personally, it makes me ill. The Haitians needed us, cried out for us to help, so we did so. The military is the only organization with the resources and processes available to do this the right way. The Red Cross could not handle the looting and rioting, UNICEF could not deal with the thousands of criminals set free--other countries sent a few people. Clearly, more than a few people are needed.

The military will set up highly efficient ways to get aid to these people fast, and at the same time will help them rebuild their infrastructure. I am proud of our military for being so highly trained and WANTING to do what they can to help here. And to all who want to assign nefarious purposes to their actions, shame on you, and I hope to whatever you are never in an emergency and needing help- you won't deserve the assistance our government can provide.



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