| − | [[File:Haitiquake1.jpg|thumb|170px|left]] On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit about 10 miles from the capital city of two million people. The major damage was confined to the capital and a few outlying areas, with the rest of the country largely spared. Early estimates are that 50,000 or more have died, and many others are injured or orphaned. Some are still alive and trapped in the rubble. The already thin infrastructure providing food, water, shelter, medical care, and police has collapsed in damaged areas. Relief is being sent around the world, but as of Jan. 15, the bottleneck at the airport is delaying deliveries. | + | [[File:Haitiquake1.jpg|thumb|170px|left]] On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit about 10 miles from the capital city of two million people. Two aftershocks followed at 4 AM and 8:40 AM on January 15th. <ref name="nyt">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/world/americas/16haiti.html?hp</ref> The major damage was confined to the capital and a few outlying areas, with the rest of the country largely spared. Early estimates are that 50,000 or more have died, and many others are injured or orphaned. Some are still alive and trapped in the rubble. The already thin infrastructure providing food, water, shelter, medical care, and police has collapsed in damaged areas. Relief is being sent around the world, but as of Jan. 15, the bottleneck at the airport is delaying deliveries. |
| − | Diplomatic relations, always strained, may force donor countries to tread carefully with relief efforts. [[President Obama]]'s initial statement sounds like a man walking on eggs: | + | Diplomatic relations, always strained, may force donor countries to tread carefully with relief efforts. For example, until the evening of the 14th, flight time between Haiti and the United States was increased by 90 minutes due to restrictions on flying over [[Cuba]]n airspace.<ref name="nyt" /> In addition, President [[Obama]]'s initial statement sounded overly concerned with respecting Haitian sovereignty: |
| − | :Officials said Obama told them to start preparing '''in case humanitarian assistance was needed'''. [http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hV0B6fLLw-0m3nvz7lOc9is0M2tA] | + | The Haitian government, whose national police have collapsed after the earthquake<ref name="nyt" />, appears to be incapable of providing the requisite assistance. |