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Two thousand additional U.S. Marines are set to arrive in Haiti today under the pretext of assisting humanitarian relief efforts in the earthquake-ravaged nation. Diverted from deployments in the Persian Gulf and in Africa, the contingent of troops boarded three naval ships yesterday in North Carolina and will join two thousand marines that have already come ashore earlier this week. A Pentagon spokesperson said that the overall military personal presence in Haiti could reach 16,000 by week’s end. The militarization of U.S. relief efforts in the Caribbean nation has already drawn criticism from various sectors. Non-governmental organizations and relief agencies demanded yesterday that the U.S. prioritize aid delivery over troop deployments in a better-coordinated effort to service survivors of the devastating quake. Despite reassurances to the contrary, the international relief group Doctors Without Borders could not land flights carrying vital medical supplies on multiple occasions at the U.S. controlled Port-au-Prince airport. A Medical coordinator with the organization said, “We cannot accept that planes carrying lifesaving medical supplies and equipment continue to be turned away while our patients die.” The militarization of the relief response adds to recent concerns that U.S.-based corporations, mercenary groups, and the International Monetary Fund are seeking to secure exploitative opportunities in a Haiti made more vulnerable by tragedy.

GUEST: Ben Dangl, Editor of TowardFreedom.com and UpsideDownWorld.org, author of “Dancing with Dynamite: Social Movements and States in Latin America.

Read Ben Dangl’s article here:
http://www.alternet.org/world/145279/us_corporations%2C_private_mercenaries_and_the_imf_rush_in_to_profit_from_haiti%27s_crisis