Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction, according to U.S. officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to private groups such as the Red Cross. The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent.
In addition, valuable supplies and services -- such as cellphone systems, medicine and cruise ships -- were delayed or declined because the government could not handle them. In some cases, supplies were wasted.
Overall, the United States declined 54 of 77 recorded aid offers from three of its staunchest allies: Canada, Britain and Israel, according to a 40-page State Department table of the offers that had been received as of January 2006.
I think that the US Government did this for either two reasons: They either don't want their pride hurt, or they consider accepting the aid is "unmanly" considering that the US is the so-called last "superpower." With this revelation, the US should not be considered a superpower anymore.
Update!: This is also posted on Americablog.
4 comments:
Bush and his cabal wanted thousands of black American citizens to suffer AND DIE for their own sick, twisted amusement.
Now now, there's no evidence that the Bush Administration is strictly speaking racist, as opposed to just classist and ruthless in politicization. If black New Orleanians had each donated $10k at a Republican fund-raiser, i'm sure there would have been ample assistance for them. Not that the rich would need it, of course, since they could just take off work a few days and head for Memphis.
I suspect the real reason for refusing the aid is that the allies would balk at a huge Halliburton contract for, oh, i dunno, "long-term flood prevention" or something.
Fine work!
Seems bloggers have to fill the void created by the lack of journalists in MSM.
Hope you watched Moyers on PBS>
BTW, via Americablog.
Disgusting. Just incomprehensible.
Tahoma Activist,
You're more right than you know, although you're also wrong in the typical knee-jerk fashion. Making poor blacks (and many other races) suffer is not a goal. It's a means to an end. Think of it all as an instant gentrification program.
I've been covering the disaster in the gulf for some time. And it's true that when this place-- Mississippi, especially-- comes back it will be much better than it ever was. But that, of course, depends on how you define"better" and it all comes at a price.
The Mississippi coast has been business first in its recovery plan. Casinos, condo developers and other business types have been given the kinds of legs up the citizens only wished they could have. True, the casinos have been good neighbors, and every one that opens creates new, good paying jobs for lots of people who are still living in Fema trailers and trying to either settle their insurance, get their insurance money released from the mortgage companies, or sell their homes. In a dozen years the gulf coast will be an economic powerhouse and major tourist/casion destination, but it will all be built on the backs of people who were screwed repeatedly, and on the older folks who simply died from the stress.
Every delay in aid means a lot of people get more desperate. Their "for sale" signs get marked "Reduced." They settle for what obscene amount their insurance company has offered because they can't hold out any more.
It's not about color, unless you mean green.
And that's a fact.
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