The day after causing a diplomatic crisis with the United Kingdom, Hillary Clinton was in Chile meeting with President Michelle Bachelet. Chile is only now finding out the true extent of the damage from Friday’s 8.8 earthquake, and it is incredible.
Chile is an unusual country by any measure. It is over 2,700 miles long and on average 110 miles wide. There is one major highway down the length of most of the country. To get to much of Patagonia, you have to go through Argentina. Now, that highway has massive craters and rifts that will take months if not years to fix. The infrastructure that the movement of aid is dependent upon has been critically disrupted. Whole towns have been washed away in a series of tidal waves. Cities and towns are cut off and the only access to much of the coast is helicopters.
And our Secretary of State in answer to this crisis brought with her as a sign of the United States commitment and friendship 25 satellite phones. Does this seem just a little bit odd? I think I could have done better running down to the local Best Buy.
Chile has not asked for much. They are a resource rich and proud country that is the envy of much of South America. The rule of law prevails and the trains run on time. But under the circumstances and with such devastation, even the wealthiest of countries can use a helping hand. Heavy lift capacity, water purification, spare parts, and heavy equipment don’t grow on trees and are needed fast. People are sleeping in the open and need shelter and food. Rebuilding will take decades, but there are immediate areas where we can help.
With a diplomatic debacle in Argentina the day before, Ms. Clinton and her boss have gambled on a no win scenario where we have damaged our relationship with our closest ally. The paucity of her gesture to Chile is stunning in comparison. Argentina is a resource rich country that has been mismanaged its economy into the ground repeatedly for over 100 years. The country only became an ally a few months before the end of World War II when the Allied victory was inevitable and then became a haven afterward for Nazi war criminals under the Peron dictatorship. The Peronists still rule there. Chile has only ever asked for free trade.
How can we rationalize these contradictory responses? It doesn’t make sense. There is a cognitive dissonance between the current administration and common sense, it would seem. We are rewarding grifters and ignoring the people who follow the rules and work hard once again. But then, that theme also seems to be running through this administration.
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