PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed to Haiti tomorrow, Saturday. This is a huge mistake and very bad timing. She and her husband Bill first went to Haiti as a young couple back in 1975 and it is understandable that she would want to put her personal stamp of interest and concern on the aftermath, but this is no time for sight seeing in Haiti and, really, no time for big

UPDATE: Clinton is taking a military cargo jet into Haiti, so at least she won’t be blocking any aid as she goes into the overstressed airport. It is fortunate that she and her staff had the good sense to take this form of transport, not a separate jet, but questions still remain, as outlined here, about the advisability of the trip.

deal visits. People are dying in the streets.

Just the idea of delaying one inbound relief flight so that the Secretary can see Haiti is way too much. Yet, it seems likely that several, if not many, flights might be held up so she can get into the disaster zone. Think about the resources, the military personnel and others, who will have to stop what they are doing and work on her visit. On top of that, there is the disruption going and coming into Port au Prince, where frantic efforts are underway to save the dying.

The Port au Prince airport is the crucial issue right now, until means can be made to get more supplies into the city via helicopter from the USS Vinson and other ships can find a way to off load cargo. The airport is overwhelmed and, while that situation might be eased by military control of the air space, the one runway is a vital lifeline to the survival of hundreds of thousands of people.

This, right now, looks like the opposite of the mistake Bush made by flying high over New Orleans after Katrina. By trying to get too close too soon, Secretary Clinton could catch some of the blame for the lack of adequate response.

There are basic rules of courtesy when you want to visit someone else’s house (or country). One is you don’t insist on visiting if your neighbor’s house is on  fire. Second, if his house is on fire, you have to bring a bucket and do something, right then and there, about the fire. Just coming over and looking at the fire is not good form. And, getting in the way is worse.

While it certainly could help Clinton and the American government in forming a better response to the crisis, a quick, dip in and fly out visit is likely to help no one. The problem now is...understanding the problem and formulating a solution. The Secretary of State, for the most part, is and will be in the background on that major issue. Unless she can make hard, tough decisions and recommendations as a result of her visit, she is going to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Doug Terry, 1.15.10

The above comments were posted prior to Secretary Clinton’s quick trip to Haiti. We can, at this point, only hope that Clinton’s visit to Haiti has a positive effect and, knowing of her affection for the country and its people, to wish her well. There is a major disaster after the disaster building in Haiti and US policy makers have not, at this point, demonstrated that they have a full grasp of the problem. Someone, such a Mrs. Clinton, who brings brains and personal compassion to the problem might have the best chance to shake up the process.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, BELOW:

Mrs. Clinton said she was sensitive to the suggestion that her visit could impede rescue efforts. She did not leave the airport in her four-hour stop, scratching a visit to United Nations peacekeeping headquarters.

After flying to Puerto Rico on her regular government plane, she transferred to a Coast Guard relief flight, which flies in and out of Port-au-Prince a couple of times a day with supplies and evacuees. (Underline added by TerryReport)

TerryReport:

Another benefit of Secretary Clinton’s trip is that about 40 American citizens were taken out on the same plane carrying Clinton out of Haiti. Presumably, those Americans could have gotten on a relief flight anyway and we are not aware of what role Mrs. Clinton might have played in allowing them to leave on that flight.

FINAL NOTE:

From all appearances, Secretary Clinton conducted a very respectful stop in Haiti, never leaving the airport and never imposing a big security detail or motorcade on the suffering people of Port au Prince. Reports say she was originally supposed to visit the United Nations Headquarters in the middle of the ruined city, but that trip was canceled. Could it be that she got some good advice from the military or other relief/rescue workers at the airport and decided to follow it? In any case, she avoided disrupting the scattered and fragile process by staying at the airport and then flying  out without fanfare. (update 7:50 AM, 1/17/10

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