Big Dogs Weblog

Pelosi Pulls A Kerry 180

by Big Dog on Jul 18, 2006 at 22:02 Political

First she was for it, now she is against it. I will explain, but first some background. American citizens are in Lebanon and are in the middle of the conflict started by the terrorists and directed at Israel. It is a tough position to be in but all of those Americans are there of their own free will. They have been given the option to be evacuated but it comes with a price. The government will charge each evacuee the government cost of the transport plus one dollar. There are many, including Nancy Pelosi, who think this is unfair. My opinion is that if these people had to leave and could take a commercial flight, they would have to pay for it. I am sure that commercial flights from Lebanon cost a lot more than what the government is charging. Nonetheless, San Fran Nan had this to say to President Bush:

“The United States government has an obligation to get thousands of its citizens out of harm’s way in Lebanon quickly and safely. That means making it clear to the combatants that we will not tolerate any interference with our evacuation activities.

“The immediate risk to American lives also means this is no time for quibbling over payment for evacuation. Whatever resources are needed to assist Americans in danger in Lebanon must be provided. Americans should not be held hostage by a requirement to sign an agreement to repay transportation costs before evacuation. A nation that can provide more than $300 billion for a war in Iraq can provide the money to get its people out of Lebanon.

“I call upon the President to remove one worry from the minds of stranded American citizens in Lebanon and their families back home by declaring immediately that their country will bear the costs of bringing them to safety.” Pelosi Website

I agree that we need to make it clear that we will not tolerate any interference and I agree that the government has an obligation. But it is not obligated to provide the rescue for free. It is also important to remember that because the US has to rescue people who are there of their own accord, our military is being put in jeopardy to rescue them. San Fran makes it look like people are being denied passage if they do not have the money. This is not the case. They are being asked to sign paperwork indicating they will pay the money back later. They are being given a ride on credit and I doubt, as a matter of fact I know, the commercial airlines would not do that. But let us say that the airlines said they would take people with no money so long as they signed a form saying they would pay. Would Pelosi be crying about the obligations of the airlines?

Yes, a nation that can spend $300 billion on a war can afford to rescue people for free but San Fran is asking the President to do something that she helped make it impossible for him to do. She voted yes to the 2003 Foreign Relations Act which has a provision that states:

Reimbursements for Emergency Overseas Evacuation. Section 201 would allow the State Department to seek reimbursements for the emergency evacuation of employees of the U.S. government, their dependents, private U.S. citizens, and foreign nationals. According to the department, this section of the bill codifies existing practice and would have no impact on the budget. Congressional Budget Office

This part of the bill put into code the practice of charging people for emergency overseas evacuation. The President can not lift this burden, a burden that Pelosi helped place, because it is the law. You see, Nancy was for this law before she was against it.

I do not know if the President can sign an Executive Order waiving the fees but why should he? This is the same mentality that people had during Katrina. People placed themselves in danger and then expected the federal government to swoop in and save them (though there is no cost for domestic evacuation). Sure, the folks in Lebanon did not start the hostilities but a moron would know that this place is a hot spot and could erupt into violence at any time. Perhaps these folks should have squirreled away a few dollars in case they had to get out. No, as usual people do not want to take responsibility for their actions. As I stated, if they had to leave by commercial air they would have to pay for a ticket. How hard a concept is this to grasp? Must be tough because San Fran is not able to see it. No, she is just blinded by liberal stupidity.

Tags: Political