Yesterday Guido Bertolaso, the man who organized the Italian relief effort in the wake of the L'Aquila earthquake, criticized the Haiti relief effort. Calling it a disorganized vanity parade, the United States was Mr. Bertolaso’s main target. "The Americans are extraordinary, but when you are facing a situation in chaos they tend to confuse military intervention with emergency aid, which cannot be entrusted to the armed forces," Reuters reported him as telling Italy's RAI television.
Mr. Bertolaso is well respected for his exceptional organizational skills in L’Aquilla, his opinion is worth noting. This does not mean he is right of course, but he does not criticize the generosity of this country – just the organization. That criticism may very well be close to the mark. Almost every report from the island despairs of many supplies entering, but few making it to those citizens in need. It is a virtual United Nations of relief with all the attendant organization problems. When everyone is in charge, no one is.
This is another incident, another disaster and another tragedy that the United States can claim in the lessons learned column – not yet in the win column. We need to take the lessons from Haiti and apply them to domestic disaster relief. This is especially important in the wake of the Graham-Talent Commission Report that gives the current (and last three) administration low marks in bio-terror. What is the proper relationship, duties and responsibilities between the military and civilian relief organizations? We still do not have that ironed out.
Criticism of Haiti Relief Effort
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/25/italy-condemns-haiti-earthquake-relief-effort
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