CNN: U.S. Response Exasperating For Some Americans (Katrina II?)

[Mark E. Smith]

(U.S. Lebanon Evacuation Woes: Incompetent George's New Katrina?)

Anderson Cooper 360 Blog 7/18

We spent the day in Cyprus tracking the latest efforts to get Americans out of Lebanon.

The U.S. government says it has evacuated more than 100 Americans, but their efforts are clearly lagging behind those of other countries. The French and Italians have gotten hundreds of their citizens out.

Some of the Americans who have made it out are clearly exasperated with the U.S. response. You see them checking into Larnaca's beach front hotels tired, frustrated, and a little stunned at what they've been through.

I just finished interviewing one American woman with three young children. The kids were bouncing on the bed of their hotel room, oblivious to the nightmare they just escaped.

Their mother was lucky. She was able to get a spot on a Marine Corps chopper and has a ticket back to New York in a few hours.

"I don't know how they are going to get all those people out," she told me.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/

Once again the lives of American citizens are left in jeopardy by an administration that couldn't care less.

[joemurphy]

Put me on the "Exasperated" list with those other Americans. n/t

[ananda]

1. horrific for most..

.. would probably be a better description..

.. and completely unacceptable.

Impeach all the bastards and bastardettes in BushInc.

The whole damm admin.

Sue

[chill_wind]

7. My same immediate thoughts: "Exasperated"?????

Like they were describing a scene of americans stuck in a major traffic jam somewhere or the simple feeling of getting left on permanent hold while trying to make a business call. CNN is making me insane.

[Drum]

2. Keep the Katrina association going...

never forget!!!

[Mark E. Smith]

4. Thanks!

I took your suggestion and changed the header.

[chill_wind]

9. It fits. There are some real mind-numbing parallels here

in terms this untolerable delay in response to thousands of Americans in peril.

[Rose Siding]

3. Heck of a job, bushie

[BOHICA06]

5. We don't want Big Brother Bush ....

listening, compiling, snooping, etc .....

But we want BBB to pull our butts out of the fire a good 7,000 miles away when the country we choose to visit, live in, or study in harbors a suicidal sect of freedom fighters that can't seem to stop sticking their thumb in a military giant's eye and then the do do hits the fan.

Okay, I get it. NOT!

[tanyev]

14. Yes. We want "BBB" to stop treating American CITIZENS like they

are the enemy, and start acting like they actually give a damn about our well-being.

[PoliticalJihad]

6. U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note

Anyone else here about this?

For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/15/lebanon.advisory/index.html

Anyone hear how much the promissory note will be? Let me guess Bush Co plans to make money off this. 1st class ticket, for a 3rd class trip.

[aquart]

8. There was a post saying they've rethought that.

Charging for evacuation. What else can you expect that from an admin that sells our ports, roads, and bridges to foreign corporations.

[PoliticalJihad]

10. Per C-SPAN briefing-They ARE asking the promissory note be signed

Per C-SPAN, just saw it.
Maura Harty - Assistant Seretary of state for consular affairs

Claimed law that requires payment written in 1956, and they are asking promissory note be signed.

[CAG]

11. How long til Beck/Limbaugh/Hannity chickenhawks get the memo to start

villainizing the americans in Lebanon like the americans in New Orleans?

I can hear it now: "They're all just a bunch of jewish-hatin' librul's over in dat dere arabian country with a bunch of muzlims. Now they want the Cheney administration, er, Bush administration to bail their sorry librul as@!s out!"

[Canuckistanian]

13. Oh, yes, they're starting to say that already

I heard Leslie Marshall's show tonight and sure enough, there was a freeptard whining about the Americans stranded in Lebanon.

He even suggested that they do a tour of duty in Iraq as the price of their ticket home.

[C_U_L8R]

12. While Bush was off eating cake in St Pete

Americans were... ONCE AGAIN.. put in the path of danger.

Republicans are clearly bad for one's health.

[KamaAina]

15. Dunces at U.S. embassy overbooked the cruise ship!

About 200 people waited outside for hours only to be told there was no room for them on the ship! :grr:

http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=4677

Ahmadia said she and about 200 others did not get to board the cruise ship used to evacuate Americans to Cyprus because the U.S. Embassy officials overbooked the vessel. She had been scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. today Beirut time (11 last night Hawaii time).

"It’s one more notch in their list of complete ridiculous, incompetent behavior," she added....

After waiting for hours under the hot sun, Ahmadia and other Americans were told they need to return tomorrow because of the miscalculation, she said.

"People were dropping from heat exhaustion," she added. "People were just crying, saying 'how can you do this to us.'"

The good news is that Israel has apparently stopped bombing Beirut while Americans are being evacuated. If only they had shown such compassion toward the Canadians... :(

edit: italics