Foreign Aid- What will come of it?

sophia jane

Decked Out
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From Cnn's website:
Governments pledge aid after Katrina

Saturday, September 3, 2005; Posted: 3:04 p.m. EDT (19:04 GMT)





(Reuters) -- Hurricane Katrina has devastated New Orleans and U.S. Gulf Coast states, killing hundreds of people and possibly thousands, and drawing support pledges from rich and poor, traditional friends and foes of the United States.

The State Department said offers of help had been received from:

Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

International organizations also offered help ranging from medical teams to tents to cash donations. They include NATO, the Organization of American States, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Health Organization.

A State Department official said a needs assessment was being done to determine which offers would be accepted.

The United Nations has offered to help coordinate international relief. Following is a list of some of the aid offered by governments.
Asia

AUSTRALIA: "We're going to provide A$10 million ($7.6 million) and the bulk of that money, if not all of it, will go to the American Red Cross," said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The Australian government said there may be up to 24 Australians trapped in Louisiana in the aftermath of Katrina.

CHINA: China offered $5 million in aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast ahead of President Hu Jintao's U.S. visit. If needed, the Chinese government is also prepared to send rescue workers, including medical experts, officials said.

JAPAN: Will provide $200,000 to the American Red Cross to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Japan will also identify needs in affected regions via the U.S. government and will provide up to $300,000 in emergency supplies such as tents, blankets and power generators if it receives requests for such assistance, the ministry said.

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces, responding to requests by the United States Texas Army National Guard, has sent three Chinook helicopters to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to help in relief efforts. The government said the Chinooks will help to ferry supplies and undertake airlift missions.

SOUTH KOREA: Has pledged aid and is waiting for a U.S. response, a government official said. "We have sent our intention to offer recovery aid," a Foreign Ministry official said on Friday.

SRI LANKA: Will donate $25,000 to the American Red Cross.
Americas

CANADA: Offered to help in any way it can and the navy is preparing a ship full of emergency disaster relief supplies to be sent when a request comes.

CUBA: Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to fly 1,100 doctors to Houston with 26 tonnes of medicine to treat disaster victims.

MEXICO: The country is sending 15 truckloads of water, food and medical supplies via Texas and the Mexican navy has offered to send two ships, two helicopters and 15 amphibious vehicles.

VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez, a vocal critic of the United States, offered to send cheap fuel, humanitarian aid and relief workers to the disaster area.
Europe

EUROPEAN UNION: EU countries are ready to give the United States oil if it requests help, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Friday. But British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said this was not what the EU had in mind when it discussed how to help.

FRANCE: Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said France was ready to offer support, telling TF1 television: "We have rescue teams based in the Caribbean and we are naturally ready to provide aid to the Americans, and that is what we have told them."

GERMANY: Has offered mobile units to provide clean water, military hospital facilities and medical aid.

ITALY: Has offered to "immediately" send aid and evacuation specialists, Italy's civil protection unit said. Authorities have prepared two military transport planes to fly amphibious vessels, pumps, generators, tents and personnel to New Orleans and other areas. They were awaiting word from U.S. officials, the unit said.

NETHERLANDS: Will provide teams for inspecting dykes and for identifying victims if there is a formal request from the United States. It will also send a frigate from Curacao to New Orleans shortly to provide emergency assistance, the government said.

RUSSIA: Has offered to help with rescue efforts, but is still awaiting a reply from Washington. "Above all with heavy transport planes, which can be loaded with helicopters and generators -- as there is no electricity in the area of the catastrophe," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

SPAIN: Expects to receive a formal request to release gasoline stocks to the United States and is prepared to grant it, an Industry Ministry spokesman said.

SWEDEN: The Rescue Authority said it was on stand-by to supply water purifying equipment, healthcare supplies and emergency shelters if needed.
Middle East

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Refining, a Houston-based subsidiary of state oil firm Saudi Aramco, will donate $5 million to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
 
So this is what I want to know. How much foreign aid will be accepted, if any? And what will foreign opinion be, if offers are turned down? It seems insane to me to turn away help at this point, but the state department is being very vague about what offers are being accepted.
 
sophia jane said:
So this is what I want to know. How much foreign aid will be accepted, if any? And what will foreign opinion be, if offers are turned down? It seems insane to me to turn away help at this point, but the state department is being very vague about what offers are being accepted.
I'm with you , take what they give you and shut up. Well fed and healthy people should not stand there hemming and hawwing over what looks good and what doesn't.
 
I would especially like it if they accepted Cuba and Venezuela's help.

I'll bet Shrub II and Dick Cheney's sphincters would make the most interesting sound when wound really tight.
 
All that help sounds wonderful and much needed. If we can't get people and things there fast enough, shouldn't we start accepting offers of more equipment, helicopters, generators, medical personnel and supplies, and dyke experts (slight snicker here, sorry :eek: )? What are we waiting for? We really think we can help the entire Gulf Coast without a little help?
 
I know a Canadian search and rescue unit is in the area.

And we have other aid prepared.

I'm afraid that for the most your Administration's response is going to be the same as amicus': Fuck off, we can look after ourselves.
 
rgraham666 said:
I know a Canadian search and rescue unit is in the area.

And we have other aid prepared.

I'm afraid that for the most your Administration's response is going to be the same as amicus': Fuck off, we can look after ourselves.


That's what I'm afraid of, Rob. And that's why I'm going to follow up on this as much as I can. It's ridiculous to turn down offers of assistance when we so obviously need it.
 
sophia jane said:
That's what I'm afraid of, Rob. And that's why I'm going to follow up on this as much as I can. It's ridiculous to turn down offers of assistance when we so obviously need it.

If they accept too much aid, sophia, they'll end up looking weak.

And these aren't the type of people who like looking weak.

Too bad the Shrubbies have forgotten that Pride is one of The Seven Deadly Sins.
 
sophia jane said:
Bumping- has anyone heard whether any of these offers are being accepted?

The news lady on CNN just said that the State Dept. has not accepted the aid because of logistics. Something about how aid isn't going to do any good if we don't know where to send it.
 
Rob said:
If they accept too much aid, sophia, they'll end up looking weak

Too late! I was watching the news today. They went around the world doing interviews with people from many countries. The consensus: America is weak. There are shocked and stunned, but there it is.

We suddenly look like a paper tiger.
 
LadyJeanne said:
The news lady on CNN just said that the State Dept. has not accepted the aid because of logistics. Something about how aid isn't going to do any good if we don't know where to send it.


That sounds like a nice excuse for exactly what Rob was talking about. They don't want to look weak by accepting foreign aid so they put a nice label on the reasons for not accepting. I hope, at least, they accept the offer to build better levees.
 
If they have nowhere safe to send the aid it will do no good. If foreign rescue workers are dragged from their vehicles and killed it will create an international problem even worse than we already have. Give em a bit to get it calmed down.
 
shiresa said:
If they have nowhere safe to send the aid it will do no good. If foreign rescue workers are dragged from their vehicles and killed it will create an international problem even worse than we already have. Give em a bit to get it calmed down.

A bit? How long is a bit? Until everyone starts dying from cholera and typhus?

NO is the only place where firing was reported. And there were no reports of any aid workers being dragged from their vehicles and killed in NO, either.

That leaves at least 80,000 square miles of disaster area for relief workers to go...
 
Canadian warships to sail to Louisiana

CBC News
Fri, 02 Sep 2005


Three Canadian warships, a coast guard vessel and three Sea King helicopters will be sent to Louisiana on Tuesday with relief supplies for the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Defence Minister Bill Graham made the announcement from Moscow, Russia.

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir William Alexander will sail along with the Canadian Navy vessels, HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Ville De Quebec and HMCS Toronto.

Naval crews were busy loading gear on to the ships in Halifax Friday as 1,000 personnel prepared to head to waters off New Orleans.

Commodore Dean McFadden, who will command the deployment, said they were consulting with their American counterparts to determine what they will do during the expected month-long mission. He suggested duties would involve reconstruction, health care and humanitarian aid.

"We will have the capacity to move people. We'll have the capacity to bring medical supplies and fuel capabilities," McFadden said as he stood on the dock next to destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, the command and control ship for the mission. "The specific jobs we're going to do, I'll wait until the Americans tell us what help they need."

The vessels will work with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard and carry Canadian Forces personnel, some of them military engineers who might be able to help restore power and generate electricity.

About 40 navy divers from both coasts were also expected to deploy with the mission, which got clearance after American officials accepted a Canadian offer of help.

Rear Admiral Dan McNeil of the Joint Task Force Atlantic said organizers of the mission, dubbed Operation Union, were compiling a list of what's needed as U.S. officials continued to assess their requirements.

The ships are expected to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico three to four days after they leave Halifax.


And also:


IEA releases oil

Fri, 02 Sep 2005
CBC News



. . In response to a request from the IEA, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Canada will step up its oil production to help stabilize world markets in the aftermath of Katrina. "We are prepared to do our part" said Martin.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Thursday that producers, refineries and pipeline operators have delayed scheduled maintenance and shutdowns to keep oil flowing at full capacity.
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said: "We're sending as much oil as we possibly can to accommodate the people in New Orleans. The pipeline capacity is very limited.". . .
 
LadyJeanne said:
The news lady on CNN just said that the State Dept. has not accepted the aid because of logistics. Something about how aid isn't going to do any good if we don't know where to send it.

We had been waiting for an answer since Thursday.

The answer we (sweden) got this morning according to the man that is responsible for our help was "We (usa) can't except the help because of logistics". He said that other countries that wants to help had got the same answer.

One Hercules is on stand by and ready to go as soon as they will get an ok from your guys.

I heard on the news this evening that usa later had accepted help from EU and Nato so there should probably be some first-aid help on its way by now.
 
LadyJeanne said:
A bit? How long is a bit? Until everyone starts dying from cholera and typhus?

NO is the only place where firing was reported. And there were no reports of any aid workers being dragged from their vehicles and killed in NO, either.

That leaves at least 80,000 square miles of disaster area for relief workers to go...

Heh no just the truck drivers trying to get the aid workers the supplies.
 
US officials were hesitant about a German military plane bringing aid to the US...

I think one of the issues we're looking at is here. It seems the help we've accepted has been specific to our needs. The questions seemed to be concerned with what exactly we need, and where, before we can accept much from anybody. Food, blankets, medicl help... We've accepted these things from Germany, Canada, the UN, and Nato because there's no question we'll need them. The pumps and whatnot we will need, and may have been accepted in some of the offers mentioned, or offered but not yet accepted.

As for America being weak... Perspective is a wonderful and misleading thing. I can look at a stripper and call her ugly, but if she's getting paid to take her clothes off, my perspective wold seem fairly inaccurate for the most part. We have the same weaknesses that every nation has, along with strengths none of them have. We're accepting aid right now, but who has offered more aid to other countries than the US? Who has done more to affect the world than we, if the last two centuries? Whether the results are interpretted as good or bad, weakness doesn't change the world as we have.

Q_C
 
Quiet_Cool said:
. . . I can look at a stripper and call her ugly, but if she's getting paid to take her clothes off, my perspective wold seem fairly inaccurate. . .
Hey! I take exception to that remark! :mad:



But I believe you are correct in your assessment.

No sane foreign power with ambitions toward war-making will ever consider the United States a weak opponent.

What the New Orleans disaster has done, is weakened the the proposition that the American form of democracy could ever benefit their citizens.

Foreign politicians trying to convince their constituents that there is some value to be gained in adapting their systems to mirror American systems will face a much more difficult sell.

They have had a peek beneath America’s glossy Hollywood facade, and seen an ugly underbelly.

Whether it is a valid criticism does not matter. That is the perception.

(Although the truth about that perception is a determination that all Americans should make, and if accurate, finally rectify.)

The offers are genuine.

The aid is available.

The fear is that your* leaders might reject them in an effort to conceal that the assistance is needed.

The fear is that your leaders would rather let citizens die, than confirm that the United States needs any help.



* At first I wrote “our,” but no, they are not my leaders anymore.
 
They sent our SeaKings??? Oh great.. now we're going to get blamed for people dieing when pieces start falling off.. :rolleyes:

There are also 26 volenteer civilians that are going with the military.. read that in the paper today.
 
The US has accepted UK food aid - 500,000 meals on first shipment. These meals are ready to eat and need no preparation.

Tinned English Breakfast, anyone?

Og
 
oggbashan said:
The US has accepted UK food aid - 500,000 meals on first shipment. These meals are ready to eat and need no preparation.

Tinned English Breakfast, anyone?

Og

Depends, are they sending tea?

(Okay, that was tasteless)

Q_C
 
oggbashan said:
The US has accepted UK food aid - 500,000 meals on first shipment. These meals are ready to eat and need no preparation.

Tinned English Breakfast, anyone?

Og

I hear there is a plan to give those to the people that are refusing to leave NO, perhaps that will convince them ;)

No seriously, I am sure with how we are going through cases of MREs (which are not that bad) but we're going through them like crazy, I am sure that will be very useful very quick.

The -official- word on offers of aid were that they were being matched to needs, and as needs are found, aid is being accepted. For example, helicoptor offers. less and less area is needing helicoptors every day and we have a butt load that are converging already. Medicine? rapidly running out, so thats being accepted quickly. Money? well like I think at christmas when I don't know what to get for the teenage relatives, money is always cool. But honestly there is stuff we are not low on, and stuff (alot of stuff) we are.

-Alex
 
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