Politics and the Tsunami Disaster

[slamminshaun]

Am I the only one who's beginning to get pissed off about how the tsunami disaster is becoming a political football? Everywhere I look, I'm hearing people bash us about how much money we pledged, how Bush didn't speak out about it soon enough, how humans were the cause of the disaster because of global warming, and then this story about how Bush is undermining the UN by creating his own coalition to help those people. You know, nobody said anything about Kofi Annan not speaking out right away, and I'm not even sure he has yet. Is it me, or would it generally be more appropriate for the head of the UN to speak out on international events before a specific country does? Just proves that no matter how bad a disaster is, there's always people who will politicize the event for their own gain.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3944374

[antonio]

It's true what you say, but it is also true that all political leaders of powerful nations, should have spoken as soon as the disaster happened.

Not in terms of how much monetary aid they are willing to offer as a country, but at least as a sign of condolence for all the victims..............I don't think it should have taken the president of the U.S. (no matter which president it is) 4 days to appear publicly and express himself towards such disaster...

Especially, with such a good opportunity to help ease the anti-american feeling on several of those nations...

[JMT]

all good points here.

but i think i read that the prez sent private condolences to the indivdual country leaders not long after.

[antonio]

Well, he could have sent his condolences privately, but he missed the opportunity to soften his lacerated human image by doing it publicly........

I don't think it's that difficult to have said at least something......unless he needed others to wirte his speech for him...

[pod]

Not for nothing, but the UN has it's own agenda and is not the benevolent organization many people believe it is. Bush setting up a 'seperate' aid mission is OK in my book.

[guyman1966]

I am fed up with how the world looks to the US to bail them out of disaster after disaster - but when our needs (security, terrorism, ect...) they turn a deaf ear.

Fuck them all.

[slamminshaun]

Here's an EXCELLENT article taken from the New York Post. This article articulates my points exactly.

http://www.nypost.com/commentary/37436.htm

[slamminshaun]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...5E7583,00.html