Clinton 'deeply resents' foreign criticism on Haiti
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she "deeply resents" foreign criticism of the US response to the earthquake in Haiti, saying the United States was doing as much as it could.
"I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake," Clinton told State Department employees at a forum marking one year in office.
Clinton did not single out critics but said that "some of the international press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued" the US decision to send thousands of troops to Haiti.
The United States needed to send both troops and civilians "to deliver aid to the Haitians who desperately needed it," Clinton said.
"We're scrambling as quick as we could to do everything we needed in the past two weeks," she said.
Leftist allies Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba have criticized the United States for its response to the quake, accusing US forces of occupying the country rather than helping its people.
A senior Italian official separately deplored a lack of a coordinated international aid effort in Haiti, saying that the United States had "too many officers" there and could not find a capable leader.
Clinton told the State Department employees that directions had been sent to US embassies around the world to counter criticism of the Haiti relief effort.
She pointed to the response as a model for the future, saying that the United States should be ready to fight against allegations it sees as unfair.
"I have absolutely no argument with anyone lodging a legitimate criticism against our country. I think we can learn from that and we are foolish if we keep our head in the sand and pretend we can't," she said.
"What we're asking for is that people view us fairly," she said.
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