I'm often not much of a Tony Blair fan, but I'll approvingly note that the British government is going to the rescue of Britons stranded in Lebanon in grand style, sending the fleet flagship and five other warships to do the job.
When the Royal Navy warships arrive off Lebanon on Wednesday, they will be ready to mount the biggest evacuation of British citizens since the Second World War.
Although the Government has not yet decided to issue a “national evacuation order”, HMS Illustrious, the aircraft carrier, and HMS Bulwark, a new commando assault ship, have been sent to the Lebanese coast. They will use their helicopters and landing craft to take thousands of trapped British citizens off the beaches in Beirut if the order to evacuate is given.
And what is the US doing for its own? Why responding with the speed we came to expect during Hurrican Katrina. Well, maybe the response is not quite yet Katrina-like. But our government isn't moving nearly as fast as many of the European governments, and a lot of Americans are suffering in the process.
US reconnaissance teams arrived in the Lebanese capital last night to assess plans to evacuate some 20,000 Americans from Beirut.Posted by armand at July 18, 2006 05:10 PM | TrackBack | Posted to International Affairs
Ah, the American military. Able to move at a moments notice, if you give them six months to prepare (in their favor, once they're there, you can't stop them).
Posted by: baltar at July 18, 2006 05:43 PM | PERMALINK