France and Brazil
are complaining about U.S. control of Toussaint L'Ouverture airport in Haiti. As usual no good deed by the U.S. goes unpunished. In the chaos after the earthquake, the Haitian government formerly transferred control of the airport to the U.S., obviously recognizing that someone needed to take charge, and that the U.S. was in the best position to do so. But the French and Brazilians aren't happy because some of their aid flights have been diverted to the Dominican Republic. Never mind that the damaged airport has a low capacity, that flights have to be prioritized, and that unorganized relief efforts aren't going to do much good. They've chosen to take offense at U.S. leadership. The Brazilian reaction:
Brazil, which saw its leadership of the UN peacekeeping mission as a calling card of its burgeoning influence, was also indignant when three flights were not allowed to land. The foreign ministry reportedly asked Hillary Clinton to grant Brazil priority over chartered flights. Nelson Jobim, the defence minister, said Brazil would not relinquish command duties and suggested it, not Washington, would continue to lead UN forces.
Yeah, because Brazil's influence is just more important than actually getting relief efforts organized. Brazil has so much experience leading massive international relief efforts. I'm sure they'd be much better suited for leadership than the U.S. And then there are the French.
Paris complained the airport had become a US "annexe"
Instead of working with us, recognizing that the Haiti is right in our backyard, the French would rather whine, snivel and cause problems. I guess that's something you can always count on no matter what the situation.
