US official: Violence in Haiti hindering aid work

Although there has remarkable restraint by the Haitian given the calamity, there are elements that must be dealt with. This is why you have to have military on the ground establishing order. The Haitian government has apparently collapsed. Let's not forget that a prison was destroyed with large numbers of prisoners escaping. Many are probably running around terrorizing the population. One rescue worker from the Dominican Republican was shot in the face. I'm amazed that we should still be talking about trying to establish order. That should have been done on day two of the disaster.

in reference to:

"Some incidents of violence in Haiti have hindered rescue workers trying to help earthquake victims, a top official leading the U.S. government's relief efforts said Sunday. Providing humanitarian aid requires a safe and secure environment, said Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command. While streets have been largely calm, he said, violence has been increasing. "We are going to have to address the situation of security," Keen said. "We've had incidents of violence that impede our ability to support the government of Haiti and answer the challenges that this country faces." Keen said about 1,000 U.S. troops are in Haiti and that 3,000 more are working from ships. More than 12,000 U.S. forces are expected to be in the region by Monday. Fear of looters and robbers has been one of the factors slowing the delivery of aid. After Tuesday's earthquake, maintaining law and order fell to the 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers and international police already in Haiti even though those forces also sustained heavy losses in the disaster. Keen said U.S. forces are working with U.N. peacekeepers and that local police are beginning to assist in providing security."
- US official: Violence in Haiti hindering aid work - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)