Blame America - Follow up

And it gets better,

Hugo Chavez has blamed America for the earthquake in Haiti. According to ABC News Chavez asserted that

the U.S. navy launched a weapon capable of inducing a powerful earthquake off the shore of Haiti. He adds that this time it was only a drill and the final target is ... destroying and taking over Iran.

Video is included in the link above. Keep in mind, this is the same tyrant that Obama is trying to normalize relations with.

Oh boy...

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Blame America - redux

Its like clockwork. Anytime an international crisis erupts, whether by act of man, God, or tectonic plates the United States will invariably be assigned guilt for the aftermath. We have been faced with these no win situations before, and we will encounter them again.

Its interesting, Obama is likely not used to such criticism. I think many on the left thought that the blame game was indicative of Bush's personality, not the US's role in the world. Now the administration is faced with the blame America crowd from throughout Europe. For example France has accused America of occupying Haiti. The WSJ further explains how America is being blamed by foreign governments for the handling of this crisis.

I can't say that I agree with many of these criticisms.

No matter which way we handle world crises, America will always be heavily scrutinized, but she takes it in stride. In terms of aid, the United States government has pledge 100 million dollars to relief efforts. The dollar figure does not tell the entire tale.

To paint a bigger picture, aid coming from America is not merely from our government, but rather from private individuals, charities, and corporations. The number that these groups have contributed easily eclipses our governments pledge by over 100 million, with donations still pouring in. Combined that’s at least 300 million from America , 10,000 troops and the aid of our advanced military systems, namely the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz class carrier which holds four distilling units that can make 400,000 U.S. gallons of potable water a day, can serve 18,000 meals per day, and is equipped with a full floating hospital. These are invaluable contributions that no other nation in the world can offer.

Personally, I'd rather see compassion of private organizations pour out to Haiti rather than from our government. That is more reflective of who we are as a people, we do not donate because of guilt or coercion, but because the American people are the most compassionate, willing, and able people in the world.

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