The French Say We Are Occupying Haiti

Acrimony has broken out between French relief authorities and American military. Apparently, according to the (London) Telegraph, even a scuffle. So now the French relief chief is accusing the US of "occupying Haiti".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7020908/US-accused-of-occupying-Haiti-as-troops-flood-in.html

It is obvious that with many countries and the UN itself pouring in, there would be conflicts. It is unfortunate because the goal is to save lives. Is the US taking the lead role? Of course. Who else has the capability to do so-also given our proximity to Haiti? I note that we also took the lead role when the tsunami hit Southeast Asia. While the UN was holding emergency meetings in Tokyo to figure out what to do, US troops were on the ground saving people and passing out supplies. It's pretty much the same in Haiti.

What the French minister doesn't seem to get is that this is not about HELPING Haiti in its hour of need. The country has no infrastructure nor any competent authorities to do what is necessary. The sad truth is that we have to do this FOR Haiti. It may sound arrogant, but this was no functioning nation even before the earthquake struck.

And the French role? It is good that they are there, but I reject any notion that their previous history with Haiti and a common language gives them any precedence in this effort. The French enslaved the Haitians and were driven out by the first successful slave rebellion in history. And what did the French leave behind aside from the language? Obviously nothing to speak of. One might ask how many times in French history has that nation ever saved or liberated anyone.

But they are there and we welcome their assistance. Just don't get any ideas about La Gloire-that is over. The only logical approach is for America to take the lead in saving lives and distributing needed supplies. Naturally, we and the rest of the world will be challenged to rebuild this country once the life-saving efforts are concluded. It is there that the responsibility can be more evenly distributed among the nations of the world.

And when it is over, there will be a brief period of recognizing the goodness and generosity of America-before they all go back to hating us.