Burma bullies let their people die

From the NY Times story on delivering aid to Burma:

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“Even though aid is beginning to flow,” Mr. Gates said, “so many parts of the Irrawaddy Delta are cut off from any kind of transportation that it’s really going to require helicopters to get assistance to them.”

The United States Navy vessels, led by the amphibious assault ship Essex, have on board 22 helicopters, medical equipment, relief supplies, water purification systems and Navy and Marine Corps personnel — all of which have been offered to the government of Myanmar to assist those affected by the cyclone.

When asked whether the Myanmar government’s actions were tantamount to genocide, Mr. Gates stopped short of that accusation. “This is more akin, in my view, to criminal neglect,” he said.

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It is certainly not benign neglect. We are dealing with some rulers who just do not care about their people and there is little that can be done to make them.