Quote :

"The same reason we don't send cops to arrest terrorists in the middle of a war zone--they're not trained or equipped to do it. The scale of some things is so large that only the military can handle it."

Humanitarian groups aren't trained or equipped to deliver humanitarian aid, but the military is? I don't the scale of something is how we should determine whether or not to deploy troops. The purpose of the military is not to provide humanitarian aid to foreign countries.

Quote :

"And a stable democracy in our region is in our interests."

We could use that justification for pretty much anything. I don't think it's our place, though.

[Edited on January 19, 2010 at 10:45 AM. Reason : ]

1/19/2010 10:31:09 AM

You are absolutely right, troops don't make good humanitarians. But troops make great troops. Apparently the government of haiti has fled, leaving the place unoccupied by any force. As such, Chavez is absolutely right, the U.S. is occupying Haiti, yet again. The question is whether that is a bad thing, and it is unclear ot me that it is given the circumstances.

1/19/2010 10:42:04 AM

Yea, let an aid organization roll up to a starving country with the logistical support of the aid group's air craft carriers, helicopters and love.

sigh

watch how long security lasts without a military force to keep order in the country that just got destroyed and everyone is really hungry.

1/19/2010 11:07:30 AM

>.<

1/20/2010 12:28:45 PM

Considering the fact that the UN already said they couldn't handle it I don't see where they have room to criticize. France can go fuck themselves as well. I think they've shit all over Haiti enough for one millennium so perhaps they'd best just hush up and send more food and medical supplies.

Haiti is currently without infrastructure, without government, and without any semblance of rule of law. If we pull out military forces how long would it be before people started rioting, attacking supply trucks, etc. We are dealing with a populace that is scared, hungry, and impoverished. It's basically a ticking timebomb that can only be defused by rapid deployment of security and organized aid efforts. Who is better equipped to do that than a military force. Someone has to take charge or planes full of supplies will simply land, unload, and then all that stuff will sit there while 12 different organizations try to figure out how to get it where it is needed. Seems like a too many chiefs not enough indians situation. If you don't want us to be the chief then handle the situation yourself, but frankly no other major country is close enough to do so.

1/20/2010 12:55:10 PM

to summarize...

fuck the haters

1/20/2010 1:03:19 PM

Yeah, more or less. I think your summary is more eloquent than my original rant.

1/20/2010 1:04:14 PM

The French snobs and others around the world are notorious for criticizing Americans as "cowboys." But when the shit hits the fan, they all scream, "Please come save me, Cowboy!" And time after time a modern-day American cowboy like this one (and many more like him) dutifully arrives on the scene:





[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 2:33 PM. Reason : I love my country and the heart of its people. Fuck those who don't.]

1/20/2010 2:32:50 PM

How can you love a country? I mean, you probably hate half of the people on this forum alone, so it's not as if you love the citizens that make up the United States. If you love the principles that this country was founded on, why are you so willing to abandon them to pursue an aggressive foreign policy that the founders specifically warned against? Is there something in particular that makes you "love" this country as a whole, or is it just blind, irrational patriotism?

1/20/2010 2:37:33 PM

I'm proud of the American spirit and the values that we stand for as well. I don't believe that people in other countries that are apprehensive of our eagerness to help others are unworthy, or should go fuck themselves. Our country is a very complex web of lofty competing goals that often exhibit our paradoxical nature, where the giant left hand doesn't know what the giant right hand is doing. Perspective is one of the most important aspects of understanding America in our world, and without it, you will never truly know the real America, and consequently can never love it truly.

1/20/2010 2:43:55 PM

^^ I love the idealized concept of my country. And I don't hate anybody except people who are trying to kill or otherwise harm me and others of goodwill.

If we do not protect what we have, we will have nothing. The naive foreign policy of the current administration ( and past administrations) has shown us that being nice to those who hate us simply invites more and varied attacks.

And please to not presume that you know me. You know nothing of me.

^ Opinions vary.

[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 2:47 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2010 2:46:28 PM

With each passing post, my approximation of you, solidifies.

1/20/2010 2:54:00 PM

I guess I don't know what it means to love a concept; that seems like an emotion that occurs between humans, or at least animals. There's nothing inherently good about the United States. This country abandoned the "ideal" it was founded on a long time ago. What's left is a country taken over by two factions that both have sought to expand government power, only in different directions.

It looks like you haven't learned the lessons of history. The lesson is not that we need to be less nice and more aggressive. It's actually the opposite. Our belligerent foreign policy, aggressive wars, and blatant interventionism has caused us a great deal of trouble. If we had simply defended our country, rather than traveled abroad to squelch "evil" wherever it may exist, we'd be a much safer and much more prosperous nation.

I don't know you, but I do know what you've posted. I'm making the assumption that you actually believe the things that you say in your posts.

[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 2:57 PM. Reason : ]

1/20/2010 2:56:36 PM

^^ Thanks?

^ You may not grasp this, but the United States of America is a concept, an artificial construct. I love what I think it to be--what I wish it to be. This feeling transcends any single leader or group of leaders, time, and even my corporeal existence.

1/20/2010 3:09:27 PM

Sounds like bullshit to me.

1/20/2010 3:13:30 PM

Quote :

" You may not grasp this. . . ."

QED.

1/20/2010 3:21:31 PM

my first allegiance is to god, then family, then probably my city and state cause i could give a shit about south dakota.

1/20/2010 4:13:01 PM

Wait, what the fuck? The UN said it could not handle it? That is what the damn thing is for! If the U.S. gets stuck with Haiti this is going to make us once again the pariah of the planet.

1/20/2010 9:53:13 PM

Venezuela President Chavez orders TV station off the air
Monday, January 25, 2010

Quote :

"Venezuela President Hugo Chávez's government ordered cable providers on Sunday to stop showing the popular television station RCTV, which had violated regulations requiring broadcasters to televise the socialist leader's long speeches in their entirety. The measure sent shudders among press freedom advocates and generated concerns in the Obama administration, which is frequently the target of Chávez's barbs. RCTV has been a target of the government in the past. In 2007, the government declined to renew RCTV's license to broadcast on the public airwaves, forcing the station onto cable."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/24/AR2010012402887.html

1/26/2010 5:43:03 AM

have you considered how exactly someone like chavez was able to come into power in the first place?

2/3/2010 1:33:25 PM

Quote :

"Wait, what the fuck? The UN said it could not handle it? That is what the damn thing is for! If the U.S. gets stuck with Haiti this is going to make us once again the pariah of the planet."

WE HATE THE UN. TAKE AWAY ITS POWER RAWR RAWR RAWR

...

OMG WHY IS THE UN SO WEAK RABBLE RABBLE?

2/3/2010 4:44:55 PM

If terrorists hate us for our freedom, do Venezuelans, Bolivians, Nicaraguans, Ecuadorians, and so on hate us for our freedoms as well and thus elect dictators (elected dictators)? I mean, why else would people hate the US when we've kept to ourselves so much since, oh, 1898.

2/3/2010 4:56:02 PM

^^^ Because the other candidates on the ballot were not much better?

[Edited on February 3, 2010 at 5:01 PM. Reason : .,.]

2/3/2010 5:01:04 PM

you're right. latin america needs their own ronald reagan, or ronaldo reagan.

2/3/2010 5:08:29 PM

.

7/16/2010 8:12:50 AM

Venezuelans charged in case of 'false' tweets
Officials may arrest 15 more
July 15, 2010

Quote :

"In Venezuela, Luis Enrique Acosta Oxford's ordeal began June 30, when he posted a 120-character piece of financial advice on the popular micro-blogging site Twitter: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, don't say you weren't warned... Pull out today... I'm telling you, there are just a few days left.' Eight days later, Venezuelan authorities incarcerated Mr. Oxford, 41, and a fellow Twitter user - Carmen Cecilia Nares Castro, 35. A court this week charged them with 'disseminating false rumors' on Twitter to 'destabilize the banking system.' They were released pending trial and face up to 11 years in prison. What's more, Venezuelan authorities have indicated they may pursue similar charges against 15 others."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/15/venezuelans-charged-in-case-of-false-tweets/

7/16/2010 12:25:49 PM

Quote :

"Chavez claims to receive nearly 288,000 help requests through Twitter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his government has received nearly 288,000 pleas for help from citizens through his three-month-old Twitter account. The controversial leftist leader signed onto Twitter in late April and has more than 673,000 followers. His address is @chavezcandanga. Candanga means devil in Spanish but in Venezuelan slang also can mean someone who is tireless or blunt. His Twitter bio identifies Chavez as "president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Bolivarian soldier, socialist and anti-imperialist." Chavez follows six accounts, one of them dealing with former Cuban President Fidel Castro, a strong ally. Speaking at an official function Monday, Chavez said he had received 287,921 requests for help through Twitter, the state-run AVN news service reported. A team of government workers processes each case, Chavez said. "It's another mechanism for contact with the public, to evaluate many things and to help many people," Chavez is quoted as saying. Among the requests for help, Chavez said, 19,000 were for employment, 17,000 for a place to live, 12,000 for credit and 7,000 for legal aid. Chavez also said he has received 139,000 favorable messages offering support, 88,000 complaints against someone and 66,000 unfavorable or critical messages. A Twitter plea Monday night seems typical of several found on Chavez's account. A person who identifies herself as a 14-year-old girl asks the president for help because her father has been out of work for nearly a year and her family has been forced to move in with an aunt, where they all must sleep in one room. There are eight people in the house and the aunt wants them to leave, the teen wrote in more than 20 Tweets, each of which is limited to 140 characters. She lists a telephone number where Chavez can reach her. Chavez answered with a Tweet, instructing the government's commune and social protection minister, Isis Ochoa, to "urgently call this teen friend." No one answered the telephone the teen listed when a CNN reporter called Tuesday morning. Chavez also comes under criticism in his account, and he often answers those comments, too. One person wrote in Monday night to ask why Chilean observers will monitor Venezuelan parliamentary elections in September when everyone knows the outcome has been predetermined. "Poor you, who doesn't know what he's saying," Chavez answered 13 minutes later."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/20/venezuela.chavez.twitter/index.html?hpt=T2

7/20/2010 3:32:35 PM

^ "Poor you" was never seen nor heard from again.

7/20/2010 7:39:07 PM

can we rally tww to troll Chavez on twitter?

7/20/2010 7:44:45 PM