French minister criticizes U.S. aid role in Haiti

So ironic, considering France literally did occupy Haiti. Brutally.

Everybody wants their plane to be the one that lands. Simply have the balls to say you're more important than everyone else, rather than hiding behind excuses.

Thanks to the French politician for inserting that buzzword "occupation" into the conversation. I'm sure it's going to do a lot of good.

Hmm, less than a week into the country and the French are screaming "occupation" ! Leave it to frenchy to try and foul things up !

Political infighting B$#&*%ks,what good did all those countries do to help Haiti before the earthquake.Don't we live in a sad world,where politics take preference over human suffering.

Oh give us a break. The French really annoy me sometimes...

If the French wanted to land, there was plenty of free water around.

France should shut up about the US in Haiti. It was France's exploitation of the Haiti that held back her domestic development for ages. Then, like most colonial powers, once the profits were no longer viable, they pulled out and left the nation to fend for itself.

The colonial powers did the same thing to much of Africa and we have seen the same kind of long struggle for political and economic stability in those nations too. The legacy of colonization and enslavement is long. France should remember her role in defining Haiti.

As for US occupation. This argument makes no sense at all. The US has had many opportunities to intervene in Haiti and to essentially control it. But has not. I guess everyone wants to be the one on the stage. But the people of Haiti today just want help. So shut up France and anyone else making complaits and get on with helping people.

One more thing. If the world cared so much about Haiti before maybe there would have been better buildings and domestic services to lower the impact of this quake. But then Haiti has no oil, no IT or well educated cheap labor to exploit and no major natural resources. So no one cared about the country until it became a media opportunity.

Globalization should be translated to = Selective Opportunism.

Well someone has to control the airspace. Who else stepped up to the plate?

I saw some Haitians shouting "USA! USA! USA!" when Americans pulled a 15-year-old girl out of the rubble alive.

Ah, to be French.....to view the world thru the prism of the 19th Century.....to stand up for Gallic pride and wisdom..........to tell everyone else when they are wrong.....to be such a royal, arrogant pain in the a$$.....

Weasel said:

First it was Pat Roberts, then it was Rush Limbaugh, now its today's clown Alain Joyandet. Can't we just send these people to Saipan or some place like that so that'll be that last we hear of them?

Saipan is not exactly a prison. It's more of a tropical paradise. Still, you're right - some people have made some pretty dumb (callous) comments about Haiti.

I think France is just embarrassed and is expressing it in a bad way.

French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet, note that he is the "cooperation" minister. If the USA did little to help, they would be blamed, they do too much, they are blamed for hogging the media spotlight but the bottom line is the USA can get things done if allowed to do their job and all the minor players need to take their place in line and let the USA call the shots about who lands and takes off seeing that the country has one major airport with one runway and their sea port is destroyed.

Thierry Henry, and now this!

The French do sound like a bunch of whiners, but they do have a point.

Wow, seems like we get along with China, Russia, Israel and other countries. Then this ass opens his mouth for our "occupation".

Somebody had to control the airspace. We got there first. We control. They've been turning several planes away. Doctors Without Borders had to fly into Santa Domingo and come over the mountains. < :-)

Boy the French really know how to be helpful in time of need

sabiwabi

God you are so predictable.

I would take French criticism in this matter - and any other - as indication they fear the Yanks will succeed where France has failed.

My god the french gov are annoying. shut up and concentrate on the matter at hand you arrogant whining idiots.

The U.S.A. doesn't want Haiti. We already have enough crummy crime-infested real estate, we don't want or need any more. We want to help. Too bad those who see things through a leftist frame of reference will predictably assume the worst and claim things they really have no clue about.

All it is is the French thinking of Haïti in a semi-vestigial colonial-stepchild kind of way and feeling like they were being upstaged by les Americains.

All it is is the French thinking of Haïti in a semi-vestigial colonial-stepchild kind of way and feeling like they were being upstaged by les Americains.

Thats pretty much what I got out of the article as well. Anyone who seriously thinks the US wants Haiti, needs their head examined. They have nothing we want, and its one of the poorest, most crime ridden infested areas in the Americas. No thanks, they can keep it! We'll help out, and then get out.

@MeanRingo and dbung10

Too bad those who see things through a leftist frame of reference will predictably assume the worst and claim things they really have no clue about.

ESPECIALLY when there is so many lefties around with the Haitian AIDS problem.

Its　so　hypocriticl that people MeanRingo and dbung10 are　blaming the Left when it was the Right who didnt even want to help in the first place. (Limbaugh and Robertson) What did they say "we already help Haiti it is called Income tax." It was the left who went there first to help. It is because of the Left that Haitian are screaming USA when they rescued the child. Now the Right wants to take credit and blame the Left. The Right had their chance with Katrina and f&#ked up. Now watch the Left show you how it is done correctly and stop trying to steal their glory. The pride you feel right now as the US helps these unfortunate victims is because of the Left.

Well, I don't know about colonial powers messing up Haiti and Africa. Its not like like they interrupted regular Bablylonias in the making. What they did was doom the future by spoiling crop lands and sucking up minerals. Its all bad enough. All the same, I wonder what those place would be like had they never seen the colonial powers? You thinking paradise? I'm not.

As for the comments of the French Minister, I can understand his frustration with the USA turning back an aid plane. But use of the word "occupations" was a quite the foot in the mouth.

This is the typical thinking of the industrialize nations. just help if you want, but leave every country that you already destroy with your so cold culture and freedom. Freedom that you dont even have since the bogymen "terrorist". These days in the great "U. S. OF A" even to fly from DC to NYC you need to go true hell like taking a international flight, is that what you call freedom?, and this is only the begining! i remember the day when i when from La Guardia to San Fransisco and the only thing i did was show a ID. Jesus!!, The US goverment screwup when Catrina and that was in they own country. when American will Understand that every country have they own set of rules and culture? if a country is poor maybe is because the US Goverment together with the American Corporations are raping those poor country even more. there are many good people in the US but open your eyes of what your Goverment is all about. don't take control of a country that you don't even understand they language.

STOP BEEN SO ARROGANT!! after all you only Human like everyone else.

i am not French. they do the same things, is like Anglo have in they genetics to go and robbed other Country.

France needs to follow the Israeli example. IDF troops are quietly making a difference in quake-stricken Haiti, they have set up their top caliber field hospitals and are doing God's work, humanitarian work. The entire world is sick of seeing French posturing and whingeing on this issue as well.

i am not French. they do the same things, is like Anglo have in they genetics to go and robbed other Country.

You sound frustrated, and that's natural, when there is major devastation and everything is too late and too little. However, bear in mind, major countries (despite their little posturing squabbles) are trying to help as best they can, given the poor state of infrastructure there.

For those thinking of going there (Haïti) read this first: http://bit.ly/5vM7Fs (as WJClinton said, give money to you charity of choice --it's the best channel for your intentions (vis á vis Haïti).

France is trying to get into Venezuela and Hugo Chavez's good books, I guess, by copying what he said. This will also get them sweet with Cuba.

@MeanRingo and dbung10

Too bad those who see things through a leftist frame of reference will predictably assume the worst and claim things they really have no clue about.

ESPECIALLY when there is so many lefties around with the Haitian AIDS problem.

Its　so　hypocriticl that people MeanRingo and dbung10 are　blaming the Left when it was the Right who didnt even want to help in the first place. (Limbaugh and Robertson) What did they say "we already help Haiti it is called Income tax." It was the left who went there first to help. It is because of the Left that Haitian are screaming USA when they rescued the child. Now the Right wants to take credit and blame the Left. Now watch the Left show you how it is done correctly and stop trying to steal their glory. The pride you feel right now as the US helps these unfortunate victims is because of the Left.

eh? can you point out to me when i said anything about the left? also I am not from the states. I just jumped at the opportunity to have a go at the French.

From what I recall, the US left Haiti in just as much of a state as France. The US appears to be trying to get in the good books - why the heck would you block French AND Candians from getting onto flights to help. France has made a good point.

U.S. forces last week turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital from the damaged, congested airport in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, prompting a complaint from French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet. The plane landed safely the following day.....heard they came backwith pontoons on their plane wheels. Gotta love the French those silly white waving flag devils

The_True you are some piece of work with your blame all America and her corporations. The world would still be far in the past if it were not for those corporations and you are an idiot to say that they are responsible for so much grief. The rest of the world doesn't seem to share your opinion of them.

French and Canadians were blocked from getting on US airplanes that were evacuating US citizens first. Is that ok with the rest of the crowd? Can America evacuate it's own people first and then help out any others that need help after that? The word "initially" in the story tells us that that was short lived and later let them on. Get over it.

An Iraqi official says a Malaysian and Japanese partnership has finalized its contract to develop an oil field in the country’s south.

Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said Malaysia’s state-run Petronas and Japan’s Japex signed the contract to produce oil from the Gharraf field Monday.

The field is believed to hold 863 million barrels of oil.

The deal is the second completed this week, giving Iraq’s government hope it will be able to boost oil exports and generate cash sorely needed for post-war reconstruction.

The contracts were awarded during Iraq’s second postwar bidding round last month. These things happen

America is doing the right thing and the world is bashing them for it. Someone has to take control of the relief and the President of Haiti has given consent to the Americans to do it. America is putting the needs of the people of Haiti over politics. USNinJapan2, France really annoys me as well. Placing politics over the needs of the people of Haiti. The_True, think about being under the control of China or Russia. You would never get the chance of making your protests. You would be a "lifetime" employee of Nike making sneakers 16 hours a day. While sometimes I do not agree with the Americans. Their good deeds far outweigh the bad and I agree with them much more than disagree. It is just that good stories are not posted about them.

I agree that the people of Haiti need help, and I am glad they are getting some, but I do suspect the US will try to expand their exploitation of the country. Seeing both Clintons there is not very reassuring.

BTW, I am criticizing the US government, not the American people, except for their not being smart/awake enough to see what their gov is doing.

Sabiwabi, a lot of poeple say they are not criticizing the US government but the truth of the matter is that the US government represents the USA people view when it comes to the Haiti issue, so in this case it is criticizing the american people, I think you would be quite surprised with how many american people agree with the US government approach to this. Also to be fair people who say that also have a tendency to harass american tourists when ever they meet them by asking and holding them accountable for USA government actions even though they claim they are "criticizing/hating on the USA government and not the american people".

What exploitation are you looking for when it comes to Haiti and USA? Farm crops from the USA?

Or perhaps sabiwabi it is a USA overthrow?

the truth of the matter is that the US government represents the USA people view when it comes to the Haiti issue, so in this case it is criticizing the american people, I think you would be quite surprised with how many american people agree with the US government approach to this.

Ideally, government actions do represent the wishes of the people, but unfortunately most Americans are unaware of what their government has done to Haiti over the past decades. I am suspicious of their true motives.

Yes but we are not talking about past decades, we are talking about now and today not then.

This was a thread by JT with no other intent that creating hits from the resident Franch-haters. I've never even heard of this guy. OK, it's a breath of fresh air from the right wing shrieking about Obama or our resident Immam's hatred of Islam.....

But I gots to ask the question.....have any of you actually read the article? I don't mean JT's crafty title inspired to give birth to another pile of intelligent pontifications, I mean the story itself...

One French politician's not very helpful comments seem to some of you (mostly Americans) that this guy speaks for everyone in France, or that this is the way people here view the American presence in Haiti. Frankly, it's rubbish.

"U.S. forces last week turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital from the damaged, congested airport in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, prompting a complaint from French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet. The plane landed safely the following day."

This is what the complaint is.

Now it's probably the case of some Frenchman being peeved that their aid plane was turned away - which in a disaster such as this where the aid has not been swiftly dealt out can actually be construed as un-believable. However, the airport was nearly destroyed and the are perhaps valid logistical reasons for the Americans (who in all fairness are the best equipped to deal with this) having turned away the French plane for 24hrs.

"French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned governments and aid groups not to squabble as they try to get their aid into Haiti."

Strangley, none of you are pouncing on Kouchner's comments, despite him being a prominent Frenchman at least one or two of you might actually heard of. Kouchner has my respect, he's an ex MSF volounteer, a qualified doctor and has worked in some of the blightest hell-holes.

Frankly, most Americans, even most canadians, they don't care what the french think.

But old friend, they do!

Hehn in fact, especially you!

That's why there is nearly as many comments on this thread as there are on the latest Obama thread.

Let's see, when the US Marines attacked Haiti in 1915, they occupied the country until 1934. Additionally, I believe in the late 80s, the US didn't particularly care for the way the Government of Haiti was operating. Then a coup took place, President Aristide was kidnapped by the US government and flown to Africa. Aristide has been trying to return to Haiti for many years now, but still being denied. He was elected by the people of Haiti as their President. Secretary Clinton made an appeal to the UN to cause the government to institute martial law and enforce curfew,for pillage of goodsand for security reasons. Correspondents in Haiti dispute her comments because there is no problem. Course, if you haven't eaten or had anything to drink, you would do whatever possible you could to put food or water in your mouth. There is really no reason to have so many US troops in Haiti.

"There is really no reason to have so many US troops in Haiti."

Nor money, doctors, relief or aid workers ! But then again, maybe all them troops are in Haiti just because of "those" other things. Hmmm, just maybe ?

Did you intentionally not refer to this part?

But Joyandet persisted. “This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti,” Joyandet, in Brussels for an EU meeting on Haiti, said on French radio.

It is only after Joyandet (and others) complained that the UN intervened and the US agreed to prioritize aid arrivals to the airport over military flights. It seems desperately need medical and other aid was being delayed by the US due to their desire to have a large military presence in Haiti.

So the French minister's criticism were very valid at the time.

sabiwabi

Yeah yeah, right. I'm sure.

"Did you intentionally not refer to this part?"

Not at all. This guy's a nobody - his comments are being seized upon because it's cool for some of you to hate the French (for reasons unknown) and think this is the common attitude here, whilst not one single person or politician I've seen or heard in France has defended his stupid comments.

sabiwabi,

The critisism was outrageous and gives un-necassary reason for American idiots and their obsession with a French stereotype.

France has a lot to answer for in Haiti.

Madverts,

He was not the only to express such criticisms. Brazil and others did as well. And its only after they did so that the UN intervened and the US agreed to prioritize aid arrivals to the airport over military flights.

So the French minister's criticism appear to have been valid at the time.

But hey, lets continue bashing the French, shall we...

I'm still curious as to why the US response was so much quicker here than it was after Katerina. Obama vs Bush? Probably not.

sabiwabi

He was not the only to express such criticisms. Brazil and others did as well. And its only after they did so that the UN intervened and the US agreed to prioritize aid arrivals to the airport over military flights.

I'll bite. If this really happened then I guess I just haven't seen any media coverage of it unlike you. I obviously have my doubts but I sincerely would like to read about it if you would be kind enough to tell me where you saw/read about it.

USNin,

I don't recall where exactly I read it, but a quick google search listed several mentions. I'm sure you can find one in there you trust to confirm my statements. Those who complained are France, Brazil,Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross.

And I remember clearly hearing on either BBC or CNN, some American official saying that they have decided to give priority to the delivery of aid over that of the military.

American technology, saving Haitian lives,making the french look good.

“ [Earthquake victim in Haiti] took refuge in an elevator shaft, where he followed instructions from an iPhone first-aid app to fashion a bandage and tourniquet for his leg and to stop the bleeding from his head wound, according to an MSNBC story. he app even warned Woolley not to fall asleep if he felt he was going into shock, so he set his cellphone’s alarm clock to go off every 20 minutes. Sixty-five hours later, a French rescue team saved him.”http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/haiti-survivor-iphone/

What is it about these two countries that they just can't stop criticising the other? The French deride the US as 'imperial war-mongers' (though probably not intending to do so publicly, at least privately this is their decided opinion) and the Americans see the French as 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys'. Yet is this their real view?

No, actually, the US as an independant state owes their very existance to France for their overt help in the Revolutionary War. And as in many such situations, they have ended up resenting their dependance on another, another who even now id giving them useful moral guidance, not only on this isse (in which the advice was heeded, please note), but also on other 'gung ho' approaches such as the Iraq fiasco which the French were derided for publicly, rather than just privately, opposing. Maybe some places still believe in the right to freedom of conscience and expression, even if it ruffles feathers and upsets the powers that be?

For their part, the French realise their role on the world stage is massively depleted by an Anglo-Saxon identified power (the US) with little consultation with them on the response to world issues. Criticisms such as this are way to get more attention, even if it can be of a divided sort. Their game plan is surely to merge Europe and be some kind of alternate superpower- a long term goal at best. So for now they are the grandstanding, shrill voice of reason. I for one am glad they are around, as unlike Russia or China, they at least have some credibility.

Even Superpowers need moral guidance, if the US militarises Haiti too much, in a few years they'll face yet another insurgency there- do you really trust some of their troops not to become patronising or racist in the longer term? Let's keep this a compassionate international aid operation, with a security detail, pure and simple.

Yk Im not really that uptodate. Why is it though when I read stories like this that I think there is no way but to back away from a geographical position-unless you live there-and when, and if, a specific calling for a need is asked for then others can step forward. Otherwise the local turmoil of an area we can only have an opinion if we have some sort of life there. I cant see where we call it international, or even how we could. Confused.

BTW does anyone know if the French are peeved about the 57 million dollars raised during the "Hope for Haiti" nationally televised charity event organized by George Clooney et al ? Great to see Sting, Bono, Madonna, Springsteen etc perform once again for charity. And the folks manning the phones was unbelievable. Speilberg, Julia Roberts, Jack Nicholson... just amazing !

I already mentioned that France, Brazil, Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross had complained about the US preventing the entry of aid; we can also a Russia, Venezuela, and Bolivia.

I do hope the US is there only to help the Haitians, but I suspect they have other motives.

Simply put those that are now criticizing the US are just doing so because the it is fashionable in the various second rate nations of the world to do so. It is a reality of being the top dog and I see such unwarranted criticism as proof of the USA’s status in the world. That being said the French Government has stated that Monsieur Joyandet was not speaking for the French Government who was backing the USA effort in Haiti fully.

What is not being spoken of by the USA bashers, surprisingly, is that the USA is in no obligation to give any aid to anyone who suffers a national disaster. That the US is sending it military to keep order so those NGOs can operate or that the US has raised more money from its citizens than the entire EU combined.

Of course the anti-US zealots try and hide this fact by bring up US actions of 100 years ago or the fact that we did not support the military police sate that ruled Haiti in the 1980s as proof that we do not have the best interest of the Haitians at heart. Then of course these anti-US zealots have to ignore the long lines of Haitians who are queuing at the US embassy to try and gain entry to American. One has to wonder, why there are not images of lines outside of the Chinese or Japanese embassy in Port of Prince?

Of course the anti-US zealots try and hide this fact by bring up US actions of 100 years ago...

No, we are bringing up the actions of Bush Jr, and Bill Clinton, who is quite active in this "relief effort".

Looks like Hillary Clinton is on the offensive this morning. Seems she is outraged at the criticism the US is getting from foreign countries like France and Italy. I can't help but be reminded how much criticism the "then" US government received from domestic and international agencies right after the Katrina disaster. Obviously, what goes around comes around.