Haiti topped foreign policy news last week. The White House was probably thankful for that after being pummeled for its sluggish response to the aborted attempt to bomb a Detroit bound plane and the revelations of the many intelligence failures that allowed the would-be terrorist to get on the plane. Likewise, the administration was probably happy to see little follow-up of the news of the suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA agents. Despite CIA Director Leon Panetta’s claims to the contrary, it seems pretty clear that there was a colossal failure in tradecraft on the part of the CIA that let a double-agent carrying a bomb to enter the U.S. base without being searched. Finally, in the midst of all the news being missed was the Pentagon report on the Fort Hood shooting that laid out a litany of failures and also prompted, finally, an admission from an administration official that the killings were an act of terrorism. This string of counterterrorism setbacks is troubling. Yet, because of the catastrophe in Haiti…the administration largely got a pass.

Lack of distractions was probably a good thing for the White House because Haiti has proven to be a monumental challenge. The earthquake resulted in perhaps the single greatest disaster in the Western Hemisphere in modern times. The capitol was leveled. The port is inoperable. Moving supplies via the one workable runway at the national airport or overland from the Dominican Republic is extremely difficult. Tens of thousands may be dead. Millions need fresh water, shelter, medical assistance, food, and security.

By the end of the first day of the disaster, the administration appeared to demonstrate it has finally learned how to react to a crisis with alacrity. Both Secretary of State Clinton and Defense Secretary Gates cancelled overseas trips to coordinate aid. Military and humanitarian resources were being rushed to the scene. In a show of bipartisanship, Obama even called on former President George W. Bush to co-lead an effort to raise disaster relief funds.

Getting Haiti right is important for the United States. “Cuba and Venezuela, already intent on minimizing U.S. influence in the region,” concluded Heritage Foundation regional experts Jim Roberts and Ray Walser,” are likely to seize this opportunity to raise their profile and influence in a country that is already battling drugs and corruption. It is clearly in U.S. interests to prevent this tragedy from becoming even worse and ensure that Haiti returns from this crisis as an even stronger democracy…. The U.S. response will be closely scrutinized by its neighbors in the Americas. Cuban medical personnel and Venezuelan cash and assistance teams will arrive in Haiti, and there is certainly bound to be tension and jockeying for credit and media attention. In this tragedy, one would hope a sense of common humanity prevails. But the Castros and Chávezes of this world do not play that way. The propagandists in Havana and Caracas will attempt to exploit the situation and make envious comparisons about the U.S. response.”

At least for now, the White House seems to be on top of the situation. For that this week they get a grade of “A” for effort. On counterterrorism policy, however, they get a do-over. The administration has to give battling terrorism much higher priority and stop its string of mistakes, missteps, and failures.

Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.

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About the author

James Jay Carafano PhD
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is a leading expert in defense affaires, intelligence, military operations and strategy, and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation.