Off the BeanVine - Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk? 12 30 04 

Since 12-30-04

Subj: Off the BeanVine Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk? 12 30 04 
Date: 12/30/2004 4:38:26 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: Thebeanvine

Greetings                                                                                         12  30  04

The casualty numbers from this Tsunami-Earthquake disaster continue to climb. Most of us see the numbers and they stagger the mind and comprehension. It's as if 10% of Cincinnati's population were suddenly snuffed out. Mind boggling.

Yet in the midst of this global disaster the Americans and specifically President Bush, are being accused of being stingy, being cold and non emotional. The same old stew we have come to expect from the media and the UN bigmouths that divert "oil for food," nothing new there.

We are only about 6% of the population of the planet but we pony-up close to 40% of ALL the aid monies and assistance given to others. Thirty-five million dollars immediately pledged in cash with promise of more to come is stingy?

Let's take a bigger look at this stingy and emotionless "response" from the Americans.

WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU SAY

Choosing to act and not just discuss the situation to death is the mark of honor and dedication. The president was not emotionally committed to this relief mission? America waited too long to act? We aren't pulling our share of the load according to the UN and their doom-chorus?

Really?

Consider this: immediately upon report of this disaster the President likely asked "what and where is the nearest meaningful response we can make." Within a short time it was determined that an Attack Submarine the USS Los Angeles was nearest and in port in Singapore. Folks, this unit is a hunter-of-enemy-submarines. They are a relatively small crew and being a combat type vessel, they have limited medical, and rescue capability. Yet, they were immediately dispatched as soon as crew was back aboard and they could be gotten underway.

Next, a US carrier group of a number of vessels was also diverted from Pacific duty. They will be able to provide a lot of manpower and are far more capable of supplying such things as emergency distillation water plants, generated electricity from dockside hookups, emergency medical care, and especially food and water services available from the support ships which always accompany these task forces at sea.

A Marine Corps Expeditionary Force (Brigade size methinks? Help me here Marines...) on ships along with their helos and support units are also underway to the hell-zone. Their manpower and helos will be invaluable, their engineers and other Naval personnel will do much to find any remaining survivors, provide medical care, etc., etc. They will certainly be involved in restoring whatever services have survived within the infrastructure of the stricken areas.

That's two full task forces of US Navy and Marines on their way now, meaningful and useable force ON ITS WAY, at an average of maybe 30 knots. Do the math, it takes time to get those forces in range of helos and fleet units. While it would be nice, we don't have the ability to instantaneously get the ships there. We'd have to "magic-them there" to do that. Enough on transit time.

Now, I admit I do NOT have the actual numbers, but take a guess at what it costs in OUR US TAX dollars to man, drive, and deliver this size of force each and every day? We're talking thousands and thousands of Marines and Sailors on the "time clock" for the duration. If an aircraft carrier has 5000 sailors aboard and each sailor earns only 50 bucks a day, the payroll alone would be around a quarter million bucks a day. One carrier! Add fuel, food, gas for the helos and aircraft, equipment, expendables and it gets to be very big number very quickly. Now add in several more thousand sailors on other vessels in the battle-group, AND add in a whole Marine expeditionary force AND their supporting vessels. You can see the size of the dollar amount easily.

Now understand that the Captains of these vessels didn't just decide to take off and go to the rescue. Someone authorized these sorties. Someone rewrote their mission and commitments to send them steaming to the disaster area. That someone was the President of the United States. Far from talking about it he acted, even sending a submarine in that can only give a smaller share of help just because IT was the closest unit to the area that we had.

So....Kofi Annan, get out your calculator. If you ask nicely I'm sure realistic numbers can be provided to you for the cost of sending these units there. First you may find it useful to delete the memory functions you used to compute those "oil for food" deals, you and your boy were last working on. Figure it out yourself and add that big old number to the 35 million we have already pledged. Or ask the Chief Officer of YOUR Navy, he can tell you what it costs.

 Oh, wait! You don't have a Navy, do you? You just have to depend on other Nations that DO have Navies to supply them. OK, how many other nations' Navies are even now underway with aid? India and Pakistan both have naval units and unless they're busy trading insults and artillery fire with each other or threatening nuclear war, they could have units there or on the way by now. The Russian navy isn't all tied up and rusting to death are they? Surely they could send something in terms of manpower or rescue units from the Vladivostok units? Maybe? How about it Mr. Putin?

China, you want to be a part of the world community and pride yourselves on your abilities and communist spirit of communal cooperation, right? OK, how many ships, generators, and water purification plants can the victims expect from you? Are you outfitting doctors and nurses and rescue workers and putting them on planes or ships?

France and Germany should be ponying up too in terms of manpower and real goods and take a break from Bush bashing long enough to lend a hand. Sweeten the pot with some of those precious EUROS you hold onto like a life raft (and I'm sure you will) and it will be a good start but they could use some feet-in-the-debris and hands on shovels. Think you could fit it in your schedule somewhere? Either one of your nations ready to show your persons in the immediate area or are you going to debate it to death, finding fault only. Nero fiddled while Rome burned they say, are you guys here to work or just part of the band?

The rest of you nations, time to throw in the chips and stay in the game or fold, where do you stand?

AMERICA WALKS THE WALK

You know, I get tired of hearing we Americans are insensitive or villains. We are neither and if we pulled our money out, turned those Navy task forces around we would have that right, and many many more will die. But we will not do that. We don't talk, we do. We always will. Neither will we turn our backs on a disaster which fell upon our neighbors whether a mile or ten thousand miles distant.

I have seen innumerable commercial spots on television and radio, dozens of E Mail sites collecting aid money here in America from private individuals and while I urge caution in sending donations, the point is that there is a massive relief effort underway by Americans at both the governmental and private-citizen level. Contributions from American citizens haven't even weighed in yet, and we're stingy and uncaring? The HELL you say!!

So, Kofi and cronies, consider this: shut up and put up. The world and the victims doesn't need a bunch of sour mouth rhetoric from someone who would siphon money out of a previous "Oil for food" relief effort while people in Iraq were starving and in need. I can only guess that you are too gun-shy, or your membership is too gun-shy to go into Sudan and stop the killing there, why would the rest of the world expect you to suddenly get a case of conscience and actually step up and do something constructive? If you have nothing more useful to say then sit down, shut up, and let the ones who WILL do get on with doing it.

Something else to think about. Those Sailors and Marines, officers and enlisted, in the upcoming days will be seeing and doing things to help. They will witness the tragedy, the sights, smells, and human loss and they will do their jobs. They will carry away with them a cargo of emotions and ugliness but not a single one of them will complain or request other duty, not one. Know why?

Because they are Americans and their word is their bond.

The rest of the world should go to bed nights praying that the good old USA survives for a long time because WE are the ones that can always be called on when the chips are down. If the world has to wait for rescue from whatever crisis it finds itself in by the United Nations, they're going to have a long long wait.

So Kofi and company, go to hell! That's how I see it.

beansimple, one American who's proud to be one said it
and above all think for yourself


Off The Bean Vine
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