3 Days After Explosion, Dutch Gov't. Offered Help; Administration Response: Thanks But No Thanks
Houston Chronicle -- "Three days after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch government offered to help. It was willing to provide ships outfitted with oil-skimming booms, and it proposed a plan for building sand barriers to protect sensitive marshlands.
The response from the Obama administration and BP, which are coordinating the cleanup: “The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,'” said Geert Visser, consul general for the Netherlands in Houston. Now, almost seven weeks later, as the oil spewing from the battered well spreads across the Gulf and soils pristine beaches and coastline, BP and our government have reconsidered.
Federal law has also hampered the assistance. The Jones Act, the maritime law that requires all goods be carried in U.S. waters by U.S.-flagged ships, has prevented Dutch ships with spill-fighting equipment from entering U.S. coastal areas."
4 Comments:
The "administration" also said no when help was offered after Katrina. This is a US government thing, not a party specific thing...
Speaking as a foreigner who lived in the US for the whole of the aughts decade, I have only one thing to say : American elites' arrogance. They believe they have all solutions in the world and don't have the common decency to entertain other folks' solutions. Sadly, it is not they who end up suffering but the regular folks. This is not a Dem or GOP thing, it is an elitist thing.
Disclosure : I am anything but a flaming liberal. However, the arrogance of the American elites is driving that great country to the ground and the ones suffering most are the regular folks.
Gee, anonymous, you really know what you're talking about. From USA Today 9-5-05:
'Monday, Britain began airlifting a half million food ration packs to the USA. The British Embassy in Washington said Britain, which holds the rotating presidency of the 25-member European Union, was coordinating the response of other member states. Germany sent 25 tons of food. Italy shipped meals ready to eat (MREs). France flew in tents and blankets from Martinique, a French possession in the Caribbean. The United States accepted a Greek offer of two cruise ships to house evacuees, Greek spokesman Theodoros Rousopoulos said.
U.S. embassies provided lists of supplies needed including forklifts, generators, veterinarian supplies and baby formula and diapers.'
But don't let facts get in the way of a little old-fashioned USA bashing. This is an Obama mess, and trying to compare his response to GWB's in similar circumstances falls far short.
"The "administration" also said no when help was offered after Katrina"...
Did you make that up before you posted the comment or did you snatch it from Keith Olberman?
Katrina and its aftermath was the responsibility of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin, not George Bush...
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