This is Compromise?
The United States of America - saving your sorry ass whether you appreciate (read: deserve) it or not.
U.S. Marines expand tsunami relief operations after intensive negotiations with Indonesia about weapons, base camp
Oh, no. God forbid they might see an armed (GASP!) Marine bringing them emergency relief supplies. This would be like Sarah Brady being lost in the woods, and then refusing to be rescued by a group of hunters (assuming the hunters didn't recognize her, and actually offered to help).
WTF? Any compromise here should be: YOU get all the food, water, and clothing you can provide. WE get to carry our weapons with us to ensure the safety of our troops delivering said supplies. Who's sitting on our side of the table here? Richard Gere? Typically, when two parties enter into negotiations, each party has a starting point and compromise is reached somewhere in between the two.
What starting point was the Indonesian government working from? Surrender of all U.S. assets and dinner with Lindsay Lohan?
The only thing being compromised here is the safety of our sailors and Marines, plain and simple.
Ace (Ace of Spades HQ) offers this perspective and asks...
It's not too far-fetched, given the fact that the government officials in these countries we're trying to help won't allow our troops to tools necessary to defend themselves.
U.S. Marines expand tsunami relief operations after intensive negotiations with Indonesia about weapons, base camp
U.S. Marines have expanded their role in Sumatra's tsunami relief operation, after days of delays caused by Indonesian objections to armed U.S. troops and the setting up of a base camp on shore, officials said.
Oh, no. God forbid they might see an armed (GASP!) Marine bringing them emergency relief supplies. This would be like Sarah Brady being lost in the woods, and then refusing to be rescued by a group of hunters (assuming the hunters didn't recognize her, and actually offered to help).
In a major compromise, the Marines agreed not to carry guns while on Indonesian soil and for the vast majority of troops to return to ships stationed off the coast after each day's operations.
WTF? Any compromise here should be: YOU get all the food, water, and clothing you can provide. WE get to carry our weapons with us to ensure the safety of our troops delivering said supplies. Who's sitting on our side of the table here? Richard Gere? Typically, when two parties enter into negotiations, each party has a starting point and compromise is reached somewhere in between the two.
What starting point was the Indonesian government working from? Surrender of all U.S. assets and dinner with Lindsay Lohan?
The only thing being compromised here is the safety of our sailors and Marines, plain and simple.
Ace (Ace of Spades HQ) offers this perspective and asks...
Bring the Boys Back Home?
It's too early to call for this yet; but it's not really too early to debate what should be done, if the nearly-inevitable begins to happen.
I'm talking about the very real possibility of radical Muslim psychopaths targeting our soldiers and aid-workers conducting tsunami relief, especially in the Aceh province.
What then?
Rant Wraith wants to know if the New York Times and other liberal institutions will begin reading the names of the dead on a nightly basis should this insane horror come to pass.
I don't want to sound cold-hearted, but if that does happen, I say: Pull out. Immediately. There is a limit to American generosity. And if it should happen that an aid worker or soldier is captured and held for ransom as he or she is attempting to rebuild these ravaged lands, that's enough for me.
We tried. Trying satisfies me.
It's not too far-fetched, given the fact that the government officials in these countries we're trying to help won't allow our troops to tools necessary to defend themselves.
