Oh my gosh! You’ve got to be kidding me:
Three days after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch government offered to help.
It was willing to provide ships outfitted with oil-skimming booms, and it proposed a plan for building sand barriers to protect sensitive marshlands.
The response from the Obama administration and BP, which are coordinating the cleanup: “The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” said Geert Visser, consul general for the Netherlands in Houston.
Now, almost seven weeks later, as the oil spewing from the battered well spreads across the Gulf and soils pristine beaches and coastline, BP and our government have reconsidered.
…
Federal law has also hampered the assistance. The Jones Act, the maritime law that requires all goods be carried in U.S. waters by U.S.-flagged ships, has prevented Dutch ships with spill-fighting equipment from entering U.S. coastal areas.
“What’s wrong with accepting outside help?” Visser asked. “If there’s a country that’s experienced with building dikes and managing water, it’s the Netherlands.”
I know that hindsight is 20/20, but this is ridiculous. They had what we needed and we turned them down. We already know that the Obama administration was briefed from day one on how difficult this would be and how long it might last, and now we know that armed with that information they (and BP) turned down help from people with the equipment to keep this at bay. And now, almost 2 months later we decide to take them up on their offer. We have freaking geniuses running the show.
Talk about Obama’s Katrina.