December 29, 2004
A Wave of Questions
Putting a Disaster in Context
By MICKEY Z.
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Is the U.S. stingy?
Even if we were to trust the estimates of $1 billion in aid eventually coming from the U.S., that number pales in comparison to the tens of billions being spent in Iraq to keep the world safe for petroleum. At this writing, the U.S. has spent an average of $9.5 million every hour on the war and occupation of Iraq. In a global sense, the U.S. spends $1 million dollars a minute on war...a percentage of which helps create Third World
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Why was there no warning?
There was warning. Here's how the folks at Democracy Now describe what happened: "Within minutes of the tsunami forming on Sunday, U.S. officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii began tracking the waves. But the scientists claimed they had no one to contact in the Indian Ocean region about the possible danger. One exception was the British-owned island of Diego Garcia that houses a major US Naval base. The Independent of London reports that U.S. officials in Hawaii did warn Diego Garcia about the possible tsunami and the island suffered no major damage."
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Could any of the affected countries done anything?
It might have helped if U.S. scientists in Hawaii hadn't initially calculated the earthquake at a magnitude of 8.0 (ten times weaker than in actuality). "Based on it being an 8.0, we assumed the damage would be confined to Sumatra and would be a local tsunami event," said Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, "one that strikes shore within minutes of the event." But even so, we must never forget that profits outweigh people. An official in Thailand's meteorology department told the Guardian of London, "A proper warning was not given. If we had given the warning and then it hadn't happened, then it would have been the death of tourism in those areas."
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http://www.counterpunch.com/mickey12292004.html