U.S. Forces Deployed to Haiti:
•
82nd Airborne Division: 100 soldiers of Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Haiti on January 15, with a command and control element of the 82nd ABN’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team following closely behind. The remainder of the 2/82 BCT, roughly 3,500 soldiers, are expected to arrive in the country by Sunday evening.5
•
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit: The MEU is comprised of roughly 2,200 Marines from the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Marine Regiment; Combat Logistics Battalion 22; Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461; and its command and control element. The MEU’s amphibious readiness group is comprised of the USS Bataan, the USS Fort McHenry and USS Carter Hall, each of which are equipped with heavy‐lift helicopters.6
•
USS Carl Vinson: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, equipped with 19 heavy‐lift helicopters and a crew of nearly 3,200, is operating from Port‐au‐Prince Harbor. Vinson, the flagship of the Carrier Strike Group 1 created last October, is commanded by Capt. Bruce Lindsey. Carrier Air Wing 17 is accompanying the Vinson on its mission to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.7 The guided‐missile cruiser USS Normandy and frigate USS Underwood also steered for Haiti on January 13.8
•
U.S. Air Force: Airmen and C‐130 cargo airlifters from the Air Force Special Operations Command have been operating in Haiti since January 13. MC‐130H Combat Talons and a C‐130E Hercules from the 1st Special Operations Wing are also currently operating in Haiti. Additional aircraft, such as MC‐130P Combat Shadows, have been dispatched, as well. Moreover, two MC‐130W Combat Spears from the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., are standing by until further notice.9
•
U.S. Coast Guard: The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to Port‐au‐Prince and is using a C‐144 Ocean Sentry fixed‐wing aircraft for aerial reconnaissance. There are four major Coast Guard cutters in the region and two more are en route. The Coast Guard is supporting USAID’s relief efforts and conducting medevac missions with its C‐130, HU‐25, and C‐144 fixed‐wing aircraft and HH‐60 and HH‐65 helicopters deployed throughout the region.10
Some moron just suggested that we give all Haitians TPS or "Temporary Protected Status". That means that anyone from Haiti may enter the United States as a refugee and stay in this country until they can return to the home country without fear of unsafe or overly dangerous conditions.
YEAH! And they all still hate us. Go figure
Many foreigners have a negative impression of the United States simply because of their most recent memory of America...GWB and his indisputably stupid and pathetic failure as president.
It means that illegal Haitian immigrants already here before the earthquake can stay. DHS specifically stated that Haitians can not come after the earthquake and expect protected immigration status. Are you seriously saying that it is moronic that we don't deport tens of thousands of Haitians back into a disaster zone?
If you'll remember back a decade, the 9/11/01 attacks were planned well before President Bush was in office.....
So, Chockstock, I'm not buying into your idea of why we're hated...
if it was one man, then we wouldn't have had so many attempts in the past year.
I never said that the source of all anti-American sentiment was purely due to one man. Its the anti-American feelings that run now in THIS decade are due to one man, Bush. BTW I dont think it matters how long the 9/11 attacks were prepared or how well they were carried out. What mattered was the Bush Administration's reaction to it, which I'm sure you and I can agree, fell flat on its face with awful consequences. The reason why most foreigners hated America rather than sympathized or tried to cooperate with us was because of our previous administration's attitude. Bush didn't work very well with our allies. He was not a team player. He didnt just help ruin our country but he weakened others' faith in our judgment and trust, both of which were squandered by Bush's moronic actions in the 9/11 aftermath.
One thing you should keep in mind is that individuals always judge based on the latest actions of others...you could make it to class on time every day until come the last day of the semester and walk in 20 minutes tardy...and everyone would remember you as the kid who was ALWAYS tardy, even though it certainly was not the case. The same human psychology applies to whole nations. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter to the rest of the free world whether we saved them from the Nazis and then the Soviets, spend millions on foreign aid or disaster aid, if the most recent mark we leave on history is blasphemy, as was Bush's actions.
What would you or your colleagues attribute the reason as to why America is hated (or not hated)? Other than the fiscal irresponsibility that dropped us in a pile of **** along with the rest of the world, I dont see why else most others would be left with a negative impression of the US
How old are you? If you are under 21, I'll attribute your ignorance to lack of education and lack of experience in how the world REALLY is rather than how you THINK it is (via MTV, CNN, and the Washington Post).
If you are older than 21, I'll just attribute your ignorance to ignorance.
After all, you believe that "the world" started "hating us" on January 20, 2001. Never mind all the terrorism, the killings, the targeted Americans, and the many men and women in uniform who died defending us from those who "didn't hate us" before January 20, 2001.
- They didn't hate us in Lebanon 1983 when they bombed the Marine barracks and killed 241 United States Marines?
- They didn't hate us when they bombed the USS Cole in 2000 and killed 17 United States Navy sailors?
- The didn't hate us when the 1st WTC bomb exploded in 1993 in the parking garage, killing 6 United States Citizens?
- They didn't hate us when they hijacked the Achille Lauro in 1985 and murdered an American passenger, throwing his body and wheelchair overboard?
- They didn't hate us when they bombed the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, killing 7 United States citizens?
- They didn't hate us in 1996 when a truck bomb exploded at the US Air Base Khubar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 United States military members?
But now, "they" all love us, terrorism is over, hatred of America is over, no one wishes to do us any harm any more, we might as well disband the US military.
Honestly, I don't agree with much of that either. You may be too young to remember the initial response to 9/11, or maybe your teachers have told you want to think, but the world was squarely behind the United States with our actions in Afghanistan. Yes, we lost some support after Iraq, but I chose not to forget the oil deals with France and Russia with Iraq, or the corruption of the UN president's son.
I also won't forget that
You seem to believe the United States was loved in the 1990s. Again, I don't see that. Whether it's the accidental bombing of a Chinese embassy or the U.S. Navy shooting down a commercial airliner.
Why do they "hate" us? Because we are the most prevalent country out there. We determine the direction of the world. Why create a European Union? Because they want some other "power" to counted the weight of the U.S.
And they don't ALL hate us. It's time to turn off MSNBC and CNN....we aren't hated by the world.
Maybe Poland and the Czech Republic aren't very happy with us to pulling out of the missile shield.
And what have we done to make people happy since President Bush. We've given ground to Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuala, Russia, China, etc....
And do those countries now love us? No. They will take as much as we give them. I wonder what Karl von Clauswitz would say about it.
Yes, I watch MSNBC and CNN, and it seems to me that the Obama Administration is doing a hell of a lot better job with working with the international community and trying to do his best to cater to the needs of Americans (some beg to differ) as well as those of Afghanistan and Iraq. The countries you mentioned who we "gave ground to" can't exactly be categorized with the rest of the world. Those specific countries have ALWAYS hated America - it has nothing to do with this administration or the next.
Yes, I watch MSNBC and CNN, and it seems to me that the Obama Administration is doing a hell of a lot better job with working with the international community and trying to do his best to cater to the needs of Americans (some beg to differ) as well as those of Afghanistan and Iraq.
I was merely bemoaning the fact that anti-American sentiment has been particularly harsh over the past decade. End of story.
Chockstock said:You can't compare previous terrorist attacks we suffered to 9/11. They are insignificant in a historical context when compared to 9/11.