The Defense Department has not sent enough troops and vehicles to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico but will soon send more, according to the three-star general newly in charge of coordinating the military response.
Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month.
“We’re certainly bringing in more [troops]," Buchanan said on CNN’s “New Day.”
"For example, on the military side, we’re bringing in both Air Force, Navy, and Army medical capabilities in addition to aircraft, more helicopters. … [But] it’s not enough, and we’re bringing more in.”
The Pentagon has already allocated more than 4,000 troops to help in rescue and restoration efforts to the U.S. territories, but it wasn’t until Thursday, eight days after Maria slammed the Caribbean, that U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) sent Buchanan.
(CNN)Much more work must be done to meet Puerto Rico’s critical humanitarian needs after Hurricane Maria, the US territory’s top official said Saturday, while also emphasizing that the federal government is fulfilling his every request – striking a conciliatory tone minutes after President Donald Trump lambasted a mayor who criticized Washington’s response.
“We need to do a lot more in order for us to get out of the emergency,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in San Juan. “But the other thing that’s also true is that the administration has answered and has complied with our petitions in an expedited manner.”
Eleven days after Hurricane Maria began to pound Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, millions in the US commonwealth remain without regular electricity service, and many have limited access to gas, cash and running water. At least 16 people died there as a result of the storm, the government has said.
Earlier Saturday, Trump – who plans to visit the island Tuesday – used Twitter to criticize San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and the “leadership ability” of some in Puerto Rico who “want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.” Cruz earlier had criticized the distribution of aid and said the feds needed to do more.
I’ve been thinking - trump is of course a garbage human being, but he’s been a garbage human being long before the election.
It’s the cult abasing and supplicating themselves that are the real detritus of this country. On almost any twitter thread rightfully condemning his latest racist and misogynistic screed are trump zombies blaming the victims of Maria for their plight. They are IMO worse than trump.
I’m not sure I can agree that they’re worse. But regardless, the President of the United States of America needs to be held to a much higher standard of conduct than the average twit on Twitter. They’re idiots, but their idiocy, bigotry, and inhumanity isn’t costing thousands of lives. That makes Trump far worse in my mind, even if these enablers put him there and absolutely share the blame.
I better stop there before the rant I want to write ends up putting me on The List.
I’m not a fan of Crocs, but I do like socks. I think the sock shaming of people who wear sandals and socks should be the next cause for the SJW to rally against. Wombat, if you come to Hawaii and want to wear socks with your Crocs in public, I’ve got your back.
Well, in Hawaii, I imagine I can just wear Crocs sans socks, eh? In northern Vermont, it gets a wee bit colder! Last week on Tuesday it was 90. This morning it was…30.
