Laura Bush: HYPOCRITE

I just read a news article about Laura Bush's opinion on the Myanmar government's reaction to the storm that hit them.

"The cyclone came a week before a referendum on a proposed constitution backed by the junta. State radio said Saturday's vote would be delayed in areas affected by the storm, but balloting would proceed elsewhere.

A top U.S. envoy to Southeast Asia said the junta should be focusing on helping cyclone victims.

"It's a huge crisis and it just seems odd to me that the government would go ahead with the referendum in this circumstance," said Scot Marciel, the U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

This week, first lady Laura Bush called the referendum a sham, and she also criticized the junta's handling of the storm. "We know already that they are very inept," she said."

I wonder what she thinks about her husband's ineptitude in his handling of the Katrina storm. This seems like the ultimate hypocrisy to me.

For edification...

www.chicagotribune.com...

This is from your source article. I don't think that Mrs. Bush is being hypocritical at all. She's being realistic.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar is immediately providing $250,000 in aid from an existing emergency fund to humanitarian organizations working on the ground, Mrs. Bush said. The United States "stands prepared" to provide broader help, but it cannot do so until the government grants permission for a U.S. disaster assistance response team to enter the country and assess the needs, she said. The State Department says that permission has been denied.

"I'm worried that they won't even accept U.S. aid," Mrs. Bush said. "And I urge the government to accept aid from the United States and from the entire international community right now while the needs of their people are so critical."

www.chicagotribune.com...

More data:

The United States said on Wednesday it had strongly urged Asian allies such as China, Thailand, Indonesia and India to put pressure on the junta in Myanmar to allow in aid after a devastating cyclone.

So far military-ruled Myanmar has resisted requests by the United States and others to allow in disaster assessment teams and much-needed aid following the giant storm that killed more than 23,000 and left tens of thousands more missing.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. government had reached out to Myanmar's neighbors, including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as China, India and Japan to get them to use their influence with the junta.

www.reuters.com...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said today it was trying to persuade Myanmar, a member of the group, to open its borders. ``All of us in Asean are trying to talk'' to the junta, Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters in Jakarta. ``We expect to get permission and opening'' of borders for aid deliveries soon.

Myanmar's state television reported that about 22,000 people have died and more than 40,000 are missing. The toll may climb to 100,000 as more bodies are found in the delta area, Shari Villarosa, the U.S. charge d'affaires at the embassy in Yangon, said yesterday.

www.bloomberg.com...

/3szoo7

Finally, the Burmese junta is allowing US aid to be flown in, but has not given permission to other countries that have pledged aid and are standing by to deliver.

BURMA'S ruling junta has given the US military permission to fly in relief supplies for survivors of Cyclone Nargis, the Thai military has said.

"We have helped the Americans to talk to the Myanmar (Burma) government to allow US planes ... to fly humanitarian aid (into the country). They just agreed," Thai Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit said. A US embassy official confirmed the decision.

But a United Nations spokesman has said the junta has still not given clearance for other aid flights to enter the country.

www.news.com.au...

/4lyen9

So, you can see that the world stands poised to provide aid to a country that has suffered some 100,000 deaths, has had its infrastructure wiped out, and has countless homeless citizens who are without food or shelter and the Burmese junta is refusing the assistance of the international community, from China, India, the US, the UK, New Zealand, and a host of other nations throughout the world, while it's people starve.

This is the situation that Laura Bush is addressing.



[edit on 2008/5/8 by GradyPhilpott]

Okay, she's being realistic. But somewhat hypocritical in how she criticizes the Myanmar government when ours couldn't due any better when subjected to the same kind of situation.

Ah, and that doesn't seem to be the source I read. The one that I read only had that line that I posted in relation to Laura Bush. But, in whatever case, I think they should just accept our aid and get on with their lives. I would think food and shelter is better than 100,000 unidentified bodies floating around spreading disease.