SOLUTION TO YOLANDA DEVASTATION President Obama telephone President Aquino and have the following conversation:Mr. President, this is Barack Obama. Here in America, weve been watching whats been going on in your country in the aftermath of Yolanda, and Ive got a proposal for you. Well give you two choices. First: With your permission, I send over the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to all of your disaster areas, I put an energetic general in charge whos built his career on getting things done without regard for red tape. Our military engineers bring bulldozers and construction equipment and immediately clear the airports so Air Force transports with supplies can land in a steady stream. Our people distribute food and water, help survivors search for loved ones and bury the dead, we build temporary shelters by the hundreds, restore power and get your people the necessities of life that they desperately need. Thats the first choice.Aquino says, Whats the second choice?Obama replies, The second choice is that we do all this without your permission.Aquino, in shock: You cant just walk in here and impose your will, Mr. President! We are a sovereign nation...Obama interrupts him. No, Mr. Aquino...the Philippine PEOPLE are the sovereign nation; youre just the temporary caretakers of that nation. Your job is to serve those people. Well, sir, we here in America have watched for five days while you and the other politicians have hemmed and hawed and done a lot of nothing, while your people are in dire need of virtually everything. If you gave this choice Ive just outlined to the Philippine people, do you think theyd opt for letting in a force of American experts who are dying to help them, or continue to go your route of sitting on your hands?Aquino: Thats an unfair characterization, Mr. President. There are complex issues here...The only complex issue we see, Obama interrupts again, is that the Philippine government, with loads of advance warning, did little more than issue evacuation orders...and thats the last thing you appear to have done. Were left with no option but to think that your government officials dont want to move a muscle until theyve figured out how to use this human calamity as an excuse to line their own pockets. This is a time for action, sir, and someone has to stand up and take it. We Americans arent perfect by any means, and weve made a lot of mistakes over the last few decades. But weve learned lessons...some of them from our own disastrous lack of response after Hurricane Katrina. And one thing weve always excelled in, as a nation and a people, is coming to the aid of people we see in need, as quickly as possible and with everything weve got.Mr. Obama, I have to protest...Mr. Aquino, Obama interrupts yet again. When everybody in a large room with you tells you that you smell like a sewer and you do nothing about it, you have no right to object when someone turns a fire-hose to you. You had your chance. Well, sir, the fire hose in this case is the will of millions of people around the world who would do anything to help your people. And you have two choices on how to deal with that: you can either fall in line behind us or stay the hell out of our way. But I warn you, Mr. President: if you get out of the way on this one, you might want to think about never stepping up on the big stage again. People whove been betrayed have incredibly-longmemories.Aquino hangs up the phone without another word.Obama turns to Secretary of State Kerry and says, He hung up; Im going to take that as tacit approval of my plan. When you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 02:16:20 +0000