Photos: US Military Swing Into Action & Aid Haiti Amid A Barrage of Critics

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI: Soldiers from the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division walk to a Navy helicopter to be dropped off to secure an area to drop in food and water supplies near the Cite Soleil area, as relief contiues to arrive after the massive earthquake January 18, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

[tweetmeme]Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti as governments and aid agencies launched a massive relief operation after a powerful earthquake that may have killed thousands. Many buildings were reduced to rubble by the 7.0-strong quake on January 12. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images).

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – JANUARY 18: A U.S. Army soldier carries an injured child from a helicopter as she is brought in for care after being hurt during the massive earthquake.

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Haitian-US citizens earthquake survivors waiting at the airport to leave Port-au-Prince return to USA, on January 17, 2010. The airport congestion also touched off diplomatic rows between the US military and other donor nations. France and Brazil both lodged official complaints that the US military, in control of the international airport, had denied landing permission to relief flights from their countries. Photo by Tolga Adanali/AA/ABACAPRESS.COM

Editor’s Note: Over recent days, there has been reported criticism from within Haiti, and formal complaints laid by France and Brazil, and its aid agencies,  that the US soldiers were “occupying” Haiti, and not prioritising medical workers.  Clearly, the US Military are providing medical aid, and other relief, on a scale we have never before witnessed. After the challenges with airport congestion  in Haiti, and aid reportedly not reaching people in need, someone needed to step in, take control and ensure there was an orderly process in order at Haiti Airport. The Haitian Government, under the circumstances, were incapable of doing that. Good on the US Military for stepping in, and stepping on diplomatic and aid agency toes, to  ensure aid reached people in need. Haitians were crying out for help. Now the US military are in Haiti,  they’re now facing criticism for doing a job they were called on to do as part of the international effort. In case governments and aid agencies need reminding, the US military are responding , along with Mexico, France, Brazil, Israel and others, to a catastrophic crisis of devastating proportions. Give them a break .


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Patients affected by the recent earthquake wait outside the Killick Haitian Coast Guard base clinic to receive treatment from U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard medical workers, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).

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Medical staff from the U.S. Navy, left, and U.S. Coast Guard, right, treat earthquake victims at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard base clinic in Haiti, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).

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Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class Jason Harold of Goldsboro, North Carolina, transfers a young Haitian earthquake victim from an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter during a medical evacuation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines an injured Haitian girl in the medical facility aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 18, 2010. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and reporter for the CNN news network, was brought to the ship to assist in performing brain surgery on a 12-year-old Hatian girl. UPI/Erin Oberholtzer/U.S. Navy.

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Cmdr. Jerry Berman, left, a Navy surgeon, Dr. Henri R. Ford, Los Angles Pediatric Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief originally from Haiti, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, and Lt. Cmdr. Kathryn Berndt, a Navy surgeon, prepare a 12-year-old Haitian girl with a severe head injury for surgery aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 18, 2010. Surgeons removed a piece of concrete from the child’s brain caused by the earthquake in Haiti. UPI/Michael Barton/U.S. Navy.

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U.S. military members distribute food and water to Haitian citizens in Port-Au-Prince on January 17(UPI/US Navy)

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A Haitian boy receives his meal-ready-to eat (MRE) and bottled water from U.S. military members that are distributing food and water at one of the distribution points in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 17(UPI/Laura A. Moore/US Navy)

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A SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter arrives to deliver water and supplies on January 15, 2010 to Port-au-Prince (UPI/Daniel Barker/U.S. Navy).

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Sailors from the United States Navy deliver an injured U.S. citizen to USS Carl Vinson on Friday, January 15, 2010. Health Services department moved the man to one of the deck elevators for transfer to the ship’s medical facility. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations in Haiti in response to the January 12, 2010, earthquake disaster. (Adrian White/US Navy News Photo/MCT)

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U.S. Army soldiers unload food and supplies on January 15, 2010 from a U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.(UPI/Candice B. Villarreal/U.S. Navy).


US Secretary of State Debunks Aid ‘Not Reaching Haitians’

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Haitian citizens receive water from air crewmen from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 9, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, January 16, 2010. The Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. (Aaron Shelley/US Navy News Photo/MCT).

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

January 16, 2010

Transcript Interview With NBC Andrea Mitchell

*Note: transcript provided by NBC News.*

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, from what you’ve seen so far, what have you learned since you’ve been on the ground that will help you make decisions that will help the people of Haiti?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Andrea, the most important thing is the very long meeting that I had with President Preval and his Prime Minister and the leadership that are functioning. We went into great detail about what Haiti needed, what the government needed and how we could better coordinate. I was able to convey both our willingness to assist, but our need to have that coordination so we are going to be working very hard. You know, I like – (airplane noise) That’s a good sound. That means something good is happening. Somebody’s coming or going. I was also able to have a briefing with our military on the ground, our embassy, our ambassador, who’s the chief of mission coordinating all of this. And we took a lot of notes – we have a lot of ideas that we’re going to follow up on and I think we’re making progress but we have a long way to go.

QUESTION: There is the perception – there’ve been complaints or reports of bottlenecks – that there’s a lot of aid coming in but it’s very hard to get it out to the people who need it. Read the rest of this entry »


Joint Communique of the United States and Haiti Governments

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United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (center right) meets with Haiti’s President Rene Preva (third from left) on Saturday(yesterday NZtime), January 16, 2010, to discuss conditions in the country following Tuesday’s deadly earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Julie Jacobson/AP/Pool/MCT)

[tweetmeme]

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:38:47 -0600

Joint Communique of the Governments of the United States and Haiti

Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

January 17, 2010

Issued at Port-au-Prince, Haiti

President René Préval of Haiti and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of the United States of America met in Port-au-Prince in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake of January 12, 2010 and its tragic aftermath, and issued the following joint communiqué: Read the rest of this entry »


Photos: Haiti Quake Aftermatch; Mass Hunger

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – JANUARY 17: Residents of the Petinville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince receive food distributed by the United Nations World Food Program against the backdrop of a massive tent village inhabited by people whose homes were destroyed in last week’s earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Aid agencies are struggling to distribute food as quickly as possible but face major logistical problems in doing so caused by the massive earthquake that took place on January 12. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images). Read the rest of this entry »