Hagel sends US troops into Philippines to help with post-typhoon humanitarian efforts

[Locutus]

Damn self-centered war-mongers.

Death to America.



Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Sunday directed the U.S. Pacific Command to support American humanitarian relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

Col. Brad Bartelt, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the U.S. military was called in at the request of the Philippines government.

Haiyan struck the island nation Friday, impacted more than 4.2 million people across 36 provinces in the Philippines, according to the Philippine government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The death toll has reached 1,000 but the number is projected to climb to 10,000.

Philippine officials say they will have a better idea about fatalities and damage in the coming days as transportation and communications systems are repaired.

A team of Marines was on the ground Saturday making early assessments and was led by Brigadier Gen. Paul Kennedy.

Bartelt said the initial focus of the U.S. effort will be air and sea search-and-rescue, helicopter and aircraft lift support and helping with logistics.

Officials said the U.S. government has since 1990 responded to more than 40 disasters in the Philippines at the request of that country's government, ranging from volcanic eruptions and drought to population displacement.

The U.S. effort is expected to include at least 90 Marines and sailors as well as a cargo planes and helicopters.

President Obama said he and first lady Michelle Obama were "deeply saddened by the loss of life and extensive damage."

"The United States is already providing significant humanitarian assistance, and we stand ready to further assist the government's relief and recovery efforts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people affected by this devastating storm," the president said.


Hagel sends US troops into Philippines to help with post-typhoon humanitarian efforts | Fox News

 

[taxslave]

It is really just a plot to get their troops on the ground and take over the government.

 

[darkbeaver]

The U.S. effort is expected to include at least 90 Marines and sailors as well as a cargo planes and helicopters.

They sent hundreds of thousands to save Iraq and billions upon billions of dollars. They havn't finished saving Hati to date. PS They owned the government for over a hundred years already.

 

[gopher]

Will be interesting to see how Republicans in Congress respond to this effort. After all, they tried to refuse aid to NYC after the Sandy disaster and it backfired on them. And it made Governor Christie into a friend of President Obama after what he did for Jersey.

 

[EagleSmack]

Will be interesting to see how Republicans in Congress respond to this effort. After all, they tried to refuse aid to NYC after the Sandy disaster and it backfired on them. And it made Governor Christie into a friend of President Obama after what he did for Jersey.

 

[karrie]

The irony is, you're being a broken record with these.

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

No good deed goes unpunished by the usual suspects.

A friend mine's wife and kids are over there, I hope they're okay.

 

[EagleSmack]

The irony is, you're being a broken record with these.

A broken record is a broken record.

The U.S. effort is expected to include at least 90 Marines and sailors as well as a cargo planes and helicopters.

They sent hundreds of thousands to save Iraq and billions upon billions of dollars. They havn't finished saving Hati to date. PS They owned the government for over a hundred years already.

Another invasion DB?

 

[darkbeaver]

A broken record is a broken record.

Another invasion DB?

Not at all ES it's simply good PR.

No good deed goes unpunished by the usual suspects.

A friend mine's wife and kids are over there, I hope they're okay.

You must believe your ability to recognize a good deed is better than mine to recognize cheap PR. Like I said earlier Half the planet is in ruins because of Uncle Shams bullsh it USAID. Remember fiction is your thing RCS.

 

[BaalsTears]

Why hasn't Canada been destroyed by Uncle Sam?

 

[taxslave]

Why hasn't Canada been destroyed by Uncle Sam?

The last time the US invaded Canada they got their butts kicked and the white house torched for their efforts.

 

[BaalsTears]

The last time the US invaded Canada they got their butts kicked and the white house torched for their efforts.

Canada and the US have never fought a war on opposite sides.

 

[taxslave]

Canada and the US have never fought a war on opposite sides.

Better get a history book not written in the US.

 

[BaalsTears]

Better get a history book not written in the US.

Did Canadians fight at the Battle of Vincennes during America's Revolutionary War?

 

[gopher]

A broken record is a broken record.

Yes you are.

 

[darkbeaver]

Jonah Blank 10:12 a.m. EST November 14, 2013
Rescue efforts boost America's image in Asia.

(Photo: Marines via Getty Images)
Story Highlights

• The United States immediately dispatched relief and troops to aid the Philippines.
• At a human level, the case for devoting U.S. military resources for disaster relief is compelling.
• Deploying resources for disaster relief is also a remarkably effective investment in the future.

The storm that ravaged the Philippines this weekend was off the charts, so powerful that it has been dubbed a "super typhoon." As of Monday, authorities estimated that more than 10,000 had perished, making the typhoon the deadliest natural disaster in that nation's history.
The United States immediately dispatched relief and troops to aid the Philippines. Though Americans have prided themselves in helping countries in need, its latest effort raises a sensitive but practical question: In a budget-constrained environment, how much importance should be placed on international disaster relief? And should this be a key mission for the Pentagon or be left to civilian agencies?
OUR VIEW: In typhoon relief, remember 2004 tsunami
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief sit in a no man's land between diplomacy, charity and military action. When the U.S. responds to natural disasters abroad, it typically taps the resources of the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and non-governmental organizations and branches of the government ranging from NASA to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Often, however, the most valuable resources are from the military. In the early days of a disaster, there is no substitute for helicopters, cargo planes and multipurpose naval vessels. There is also no substitute for pilots and technical experts trained to operate in exceptionally challenging conditions.
At a human level, the case for devoting U.S. military resources for disaster relief is compelling. Super Typhoon Haiyan, for example, virtually obliterated the city of Tacloban, leaving survivors scavenging for food and water. The remains of a hospital have been reduced to providing only first aid. Supplies that arrive at a nearby airport could not be transported until the roads were cleared of trees and debris. Elsewhere, aid sent by the Red Cross, the United Nations, private charities and foreign governments might have no way of reaching many of the victims in time to save them. In the wake of Haiyan — as was the case in the wake of disasters such as the Asian tsunami of 2004 — there is no substitute for the capabilities of the U.S. military.
At the level of national interest, however, does the case for tasking the U.S. military to international natural disasters hold up — particularly in a time when the Pentagon has seen its budget slashed? A cold-eyed evaluation would suggest yes.
The best battle is the one you don't have to fight. Most of the deployment of U.S. military resources is preventive: The U.S. stations troops throughout the world in the hope of shaping the political environment so as to avoid sending them into combat. The U.S. conducts training exercises with almost every nation it can, in part to decrease the likelihood of conducting actual warfare. Even in a war zone such as Afghanistan, the primary mission of the U.S. military now is training rather than combat.
In these terms, deploying military resources for disaster relief is a remarkably effective — and inexpensive — investment in the future. One of the largest such deployments in history, the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other assets following the Asian tsunami of 2004, is estimated to have cost $857 million. That's roughly the price of three days' operations in Afghanistan last year.
The goodwill the tsunami relief brought the U.S. is incalculable. Nearly a decade later, the effort may rank as one of the most concrete reasons Southeast Asian nations trust the long-term U.S. commitment to a strategy of "Asian rebalancing."
The Obama administration recognizes the value of disaster relief. As the Pentagon attempts to shift more of its weight to the Asian Pacific region while balancing a shrinking budget, this could turn out to be one of the best decisions it could make.
Jonah Blank is a senior political scientist at the non-profit, non-partisan RAND Corporation and a former policy director for South and Southeast Asia on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

 

[Blackleaf]

Britain has been called a world aid superpower, and this disaster in the Philippines has proven that again, with Britain sending more aid to the region than almost any other country, including giving more money per person than the United States.

Britain has already sent the helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and the destroyer HMS Daring to the region to help in the aid efforts and in the early hours of this morning an RAF C-17 aircraft set off for the Philippines with British rescue equipment.

Helicopters from Illustrious are to be used to deliver food and water to remote parts of the Philippines.

The Royal Navy said almost all of its ships carried supplies and equipment for use in such emergencies and added its crews were trained for dealing with humanitarian disasters.

HMS Daring has more than 200 personnel on board including a doctor, a dentist, engineers and a chaplain. It is also carrying members of the Royal Marines band who, as a secondary role, are trained first aiders.

The ship holds 700 ration packs, can provide more than 20,000 litres of water, and has other equipment including generators and thermal-imaging cameras.

The C-17 is taking JCB diggers, a forklift truck, two Land Rovers and medical aid.

As well as the C-17, a specialist cargo aircraft loaded with equipment to speed up the offloading of relief supplies at airfields and help with rubble clearance was also deployed.

A team of 12 medical experts from the UK, requested by the Philippines Department of Health, has also flown to the country.

Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, said Britain was "helping thousands of people in desperate need".

HMS Illustrious

HMS Daring

The RAF C-17 military transport aircraft, shown here taking off from RAF Brize Norton this morning, is carrying JCB diggers, a forklift truck, two Land Rovers and medical aid

So far, the British Government has sent thousands of tents and £20 million in aid.

The British people themselves have so far raised £23 million through the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC).

Britain has given more in aid on a per capita basis than the United States whilst China, soon to overtake the US as the world's biggest economy, has given just a paltry £100,000 so far.

Canada and the US have never fought a war on opposite sides.

Apart from the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars, both of which the US lost.

 

[EagleSmack]

Britain has been called a world aid superpower, and this disaster in the Philippines has proven that again, with Britain sending more aid to the region than almost any other country, including giving more money per person than the United States.

1/3 to 1/4 of the aid going to the Philippines is from the US. You fail again

Apart from the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars, both of which the US lost.

The US lost the Napoleonic Wars. Good grief.

They kicked the Brits azz in the War of 1812 that's for sure.

 

[petros]

They got a great deal on Louisiana

 

[Blackleaf]

1/3 to 1/4 of the aid going to the Philippines is from the US. You fail again

Britain is a global aid superpower, and has given even more money to the Philippines than even the US.

So far Britain has given £43 million in total - £20 million from the government and £23 million from the British people out of the goodness of their hearts.

Even the Queen has given some of her money (has Obama given some of his?)

The US has given a total of US$22,515,398, which works out as £13,986,940.48.

Britain has given more money in aid to the Philippines than the US.

The US lost the Napoleonic Wars. Good grief.

They kicked the Brits azz in the War of 1812 that's for sure.

You lost both the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Read an accurate history book.