NYT Demands Invasion of Burma To Provide Humanitarian Aid

They're calling it an airdrop of humanitarian aid by French and US helicopters and aircraft stationed offshore, but have no doubt that this is an invasion under international law.

It's just an invasion of the kind that the New York Times can get behind.

Never mind that the NYT opposed the war in Iraq despite the human rights component of toppling Saddam Hussein - the hundreds of thousands murdered by the regime, to say nothing of the ethnic cleansing and ecological disasters designed to flush the Marsh Arabs down the memory hole.

It is an invasion the Times editorial board can get behind because the Bush Administration has thus far chosen not to do so, instead sticking to international law and letting a multilateral approach try to cajole the junta into accepting US aid without the kinds of conditions that make it impossible for aid to get where it's needed most.

The junta would rather watch hundreds of thousands die than let the US be the one to provide that aid.

Burma’s state-controlled media said that U.S. helicopters or naval ships were not welcome to join the relief effort.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said accepting military assistance “comes with strings attached” that are “not acceptable to the people of Burma.”

The report cited fears of an American invasion aimed at grabbing the country’s oil reserves.

The US has shown itself uninterested in toppling the regime in Burma, despite its clear and odious violations of the Burmese people. One can only hope that the people in Burma realize that the junta is purposefully withholding assistance and rise up and overthrow the junta before it is too late.