U.S. Ships May Abandon Myanmar Aid Efforts

Still Denied Permission, Navy Vessels Will Likely Give Up Trying To Provide Relief Within Days

(AP)  The United States probably will withdraw a group of naval vessels from waters off the coast of Myanmar within days unless the government allows the ships to offload their relief supplies for cyclone victims, the senior commander of U.S. forces in the region said Wednesday.

Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said he would discuss the matter this week with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Singapore, where they will attend an international security conference.

Keating said the group of ships, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, has other scheduled commitments in the area, including a planned port visit to Hong Kong. They were in the Gulf of Thailand participating in a naval exercise when the cyclone struck Myanmar, also known as Burma, on May 2-3.

"Absent a green light from Burmese officials, I don't think she will be there for weeks," Keating told a Pentagon news conference, referring to the Essex. "Days, and then we'll see."

The admiral said the Myanmar junta's refusal to allow the Navy to provide relief is frustrating. He described the sailors and Marines aboard the Essex as "desperate" to provide help.

"If they can't help, they know they have other things that they joined the Navy and the Marine Corps to do, so they want to get on with that sort of thing," Keating said. "It is certainly frustrating to us at Pacific Command. Imagine how much more frustrating it is to the men and women on the ship."

The admiral said it is not too late for the Navy to contribute to the relief effort.

"We believe there's still a mission for us," he said.

The Myanmar government has permitted limited numbers of U.S. Air Force C-130s to bring in water and other relief supplies from a base in Thailand. Keating said 70 such flights have been flown thus far.

Accompanying the Essex in waters off Myanmar are the USS Juneau, the USS Harper's Ferry and the USS Mustin. The Essex has 23 helicopters aboard, including 19 capable of lifting cargo from ship to shore, as well as 1,500 Marines. U.S. officials have proposed using the helicopters to distribute relief aid from the Rangoon airport to outlying areas closer to the cyclone victims.

The U.S. vessels have been off the coast since shortly after the cyclone struck.

The Myanmar government says the cyclone killed 78,000 people and left 56,000 missing. An estimated 2.4 million people were left in desperate need of food, shelter and medical care, according to the United Nations.

Keating said that when he flew to Rangoon with the first C-130 ferrying relief supplies from Thailand on May 11 he met with a high-level delegation of Myanmar civilian and military officials. He said they expressed appreciation for U.S. offers of more aid but said they could not make decisions at that point.

The Myanmar officials then spoke positively about the prospects for recovery from the cyclone, Keating said.

"As to their assessment of the need for those affected by the storm, it was a much more optimistic assessment than our embassy officials and our intelligence led us to understand," he said.

"They said people are returning to their villages, they're planting their summer rotation of crops," and they said the summer monsoons would wash away the salt water left in the soil and ponds by the cyclone. "Their estimate was not nearly as grave as ours," he said.

[keithle1]

Glad I don''t live in Myanmar. Eeeeeeewwwww.

[wardoglrs]

They always use food as a weapon. This is the usa way of helping

[nyeinc]

Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Asia and Pacific Affairs Mr. Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (Democrat, American Samoa) mentioned in a hearing on May 20, 2008 that he hoped to visit Burma in the near future so that he can access the situation on the ground with his own eyes.

A Congressional delegation including at least two of the following members of the Sub-Committee on Asia and Pacific Affairs should be invited to visit Burma, along with its chairman

Donald A. Manzullo, Ranking Member (Republican, Illinois, 16th District)
Diane E. Watson, (Democrat, California, 33rd District)
Gary L. Ackerman (Democrat, New York, 5th District)
Dan Burton (Republican, Indiana, 5th District)

The Congressional Delegation should start the visa process and hopefully the Burmese government would invite them as soon as possible.

[petro49l]

Yangon should allow the American Marines to land. Emergency relief supplies are only meant to mitigate deaths. The people of Myanmar deserve an opportunity to live. Yangon should accept the aid as humanitarian and necessary.

[apndrgn]

The jet stream gets just about anything anywhere. The japanese used it to balloon bombs over the U.S. Todays technology could send balloons with rice over the disaster area and with cameras and controlled release and parachutes, drop food. There is a Biblical precedence, manna.

[renonv5]

Bring it back here, there are many people who go to bed hungry every night. Just think, you could help Americans. What a novel idea!!!

[mljohns00]

If the people of Myanmar aren''t happy with their government, they''ll fix it themselves. As would the Iraqis, if we''d left them alone.

The U.S. has tried to "make countries safe for Democracy" for 100 years now, and it has yet to work. We invaded and occupied Cuba and many other countries in the 20th century, with zero long-term effect.

We have our own government which is conducting illegal imprisonment, torture, and civil liberties violations that are more like Stalin''s Russia than what was once the United States. Let''s start with our own "revolution" before forcing Democracy on anybody else.

[brianbwb-2009]

The government of Myanmar said they do not want US aid, end of story, why is Bush wasting food and fuel where he is not wanted?

I can definitely understand Myanmar, if they thought the US aid wouldn''t be a Trojan Horse, they would probably have accepted it, but such is the current reputation of Bush that even I don''t trust him to have a strictly humane motive.

[ramos937]

OK...The people there desperately need the aid aboard our ships but the junta is deathly afraid we will do to them what we did to Saddam. Just let''s swallow our ego and transfer all of the aid to countries ships that are being allowed in. As far as this matter goes, case solved.

[nonayabiness]

I said long ago, just do it!! Not that I want to risk any American lives, but THIS kind of effort would be much more palatable in the event we lose some troops or a plane or two than what we''ve lost in the illegal, immoral, and unjust war in Iraq. It''s been weeks now, either help these people even if we have to takes risks in doing so or come home and help our own selves. Of course, this is not directed at the pilots, etc. who are following orders, its directed at the upper brass who are responsible for making the decisions. According to the news stories, anyway, we''ve done our part as good, global ambassadors to try and help these people. If the government won''t let us, why are we playing dead?

Just do it, or save the taxpayers monies and come home and help our own!!!! Please!!!!!!!

[nonayabiness]

Good, then. Come home and help our own.

[wilmojo1]

I say that you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. If the government of Burma doesn''t want us to aid the people there it''s not our fault that hundreds or thousands more will suffer from their mistakes or their governments mistakes in governing the people and the people that''s trying to help them. The aid is there just waiting for permission to help those that needs the aid that we can give them. The rulers of Burma probably think that we''re stupid enough to kiss their butts and not expect anything in return. The world doesn''t work that way. Besides i didn''t hear of anyone from there trying to help us when the hurricanes tore up several of our states a few years ago.Leave them to their own way of life if they''re happy with it.There''s people here in the u.s.a. that would be glad to get some of that free food and aid that we''re trying to give them.

[beehive21-2009]

Ship it back to USA.for the next, Katrina on the horizon.

[tksk53]

If Myanmar don''t want our aid, then pull our ships out of there and let''s give it to the starving people here
We try to be too nice to everybody and they just **** on us
TKSK53

[minnick8-2009]

I''m really tired of the AL 2008 posting about CO2 taxes. Al2008 should log off and get a life. A C02 tax is not going to stop hurricanes, and tornadoes, and ice storms, and control the weather. China is building new coal power plants daily. Are they going to pay the tax? What about all the cars coming on board with C02 emissions in India and China?

The least you could do, Al2008 is rewrite your blog so that it isn''t the same one over and over and over and over.

[emelder]

How about U.S. tornado victims ... or Katrina (we haven''t really done much down there yet).

[sistatee-2009]

Send in a couple carriers to replace the aid ships, bomb the snot out of the military junta, and when they scream for aid, extend the middle finger while steaming out of sight.

[trenticus-2009]

Just leave them be guys. Let the people grow weary of their own rulers. If they fear to prosper in freedom, then they have selected for themselves a tyrant.....It''''s sad enough this happened to them without rubbing it in more.

Posted by cfin5

Well Put! I agree With you.

[trenticus-2009]

U.S. Ships May Abandon Myanmar Aid Efforts...there''''s no profit in it.

Posted by dragonwagon5

OH S*C*R*E*W YOU! Thats why they are sitting there begging to help. I say go on with life and fulfill your duties to America and not to a regime that cares nothing for the people they govern! No go sit in the corner and think about what you said! I said NOW! Brat!

[hypnotoad72]

If they don''t want us there, why hang around?

And Abigail70, you are so right on that.