Too many aid organizations and an inept government have created a chaotic relief effort in Haiti
“The aid machinery currently at work in Haiti keeps too much for overhead for its operations, and still relies overmuch on NGOs or contractors who do not observe the ground rules we would need to follow to build Haiti back better.”
Phi Beta Iota: This is the single best over-all description of how the USA–despite its massive presence–has failed to provide the two things we have plenty of and everyone in Haiti needs: mobility into all six air and sea points (12 entry points instead of two now being used) and the kind of multinational decision-support that STRONG ANGEL pioneered so able. Haiti appears to be chaotic–out of control–and the problem will be made vastly worse if we allow US contractors to take the place over much as Naomi Klein anticipates in The Shock Doctrine–The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Haiti appears to be a disaster converted into a catastrophe now well on its way to pillaging and looting by American contractors who will make Haiti's own gangs look like “the little rascals.”
Submitted by Simon Johnson, Ronald Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management;Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; and co-founder of http://www.BaselineScenario.com
ADM Allen is arguably the most credible and capable individual in the U.S. Government with respect to disaster relief.
Haiti response effort brings lessons from Katrina
When the after-action reviews of the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti are finally written, the tragedy will likely prove another major milestone in gauging U.S. disaster response. For an early preview, National Journal spoke with the man tasked with salvaging the Katrina operation and an insider during the Haiti crisis, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. Edited excerpts from that interview follow.
Phi Beta Iota: It is clear from this interview that the emphasis was on extracting Americans rather than orchestrating aid to the Haitians. That is very helpful. Lessons learned from Haiti remain to be documented at a multinational and regional level.
Although the search works, it's such an important line of inquiry that we've decided to create this direct post. Thank you for seeking this. Credit first: Edward N. Luttwak's brilliant Strategy–The Logic of War and Peace, Revised and Enlarged Edition was the first effort to not just distinguish between the four levels of analysis (strategic, operational, tactical, and technical) but to show how capabilities at different levels that might be insufficient on their own (e.g. a man-held bazooka against tanks at the tactical level) actually created a coherent whole when combined with capabilities at others levels (artillery, aviation, fuel interdiction).
Here is a clean short list responsive to your search, aided by the human in the loop:
Phi Beta Iota: Paul Strassmann, former CIO Xerox, former Director of Defense Information in the 1990's, a retiree recall to serve as CIO for NASA under Sean O'Keefe, is one of the deeper minds thinking about all this stuff. Visit him at Strassmann, Inc.
Wikipedia Memetic engineering is a term developed and coined by Leveious Rolando, John Sokol, and Gibran Burchett while they researched and observed the behavior of people after being purposely exposed (knowingly and unknowingly) to certain memetic themes. The term is based on Richard Dawkins‘ theory of memes.
The process of developing memes, through meme-splicing and memetic synthesis, with the intent of altering the behavior of others in society or humanity.
The process of creating and developing theories or ideologies based on an analytical study of societies, cultures, their ways of thinking and the evolution of their minds.
The process of modifying human beliefs, thought patterns, etc.
Phi Beta Iota: Memetics is NOT propaganda and it cannot be imposed from the top down It is more like righteous statecraft, treating philosophy with respect and using education the way it should be, a means of empowering the collective public to self-govern by being fully self-aware. Memes are a form of cultural memory of what works.
New Details Emerge in Salomi Hostage Case: High Drama in HTS
by John Stanton
Observers indicate that two individuals in HTS leadership positions on the ground in Iraq—Lieutenant Colonel Byrd (Program Management Office – FWD) and Michael Goains, GG-15 (Theater Coordination Element) had direct knowledge of Issa Salomi's prior forays outside Camp Liberty/Victory Base Complex in Iraq unaccompanied by his teammates (team designation IZ-02,) or US military personnel. Salomi was apparently taken by an Iraqi insurgent group in January 2010 and a video of him recently appeared in global media outlets in February 2010.
Observers have also pointed out that Salomi is not, in fact, a contractor but is instead a temporary US Army Civilian employee. In 2009, HTS reverted to a government program and contractors were forced to choose between leaving or converting to US government civilian status.
“There is so much drama within the HTS program right now that it is unbelievable. Many, many people are being fired, rearranged and moved around due to management incompetence and personality problems,” said observers. “The amount of money being squandered is ridiculous.”
