A concerned Bahamian Foreign Minister T. Brent Symonette said it could be catastrophic for Caribbean economies if the oil spill hits the region’s waters, but Clinton, offered little consolation, but to say, "We earnestly hope that does not happen."
The fact is, there is no real solution in sight for capping the leak, which has been gushing some 20,000 and 40,000-plus barrels of oil according to the US government figures released on Thursday.
Clinton in the meeting admitted that "our understanding of and preparation for dealing with a disaster like this is out of date," adding that the US needs "to start now to get better prepared to deal with something of this magnitude in the future."
In fact, at home in the U.S., Clinton’s boss is coming under fire for his seeming inability to assure Americans who are already job strapped, that the situation can be remedied before more irreversible damage is done.
The anger at President Obama is coming from all quarters, the environmentalists, Louisianans, Floridians, the Republican Party, some democrats and many others, who believe the president has not been doing enough. But the truth is that it is mainly frustration that is driving the anger, because BP seems to be at a loss as to how the fix the problem and the White House is depending on BP. Additionally, the technical expertise that the White House is using does not seem to know what to do either.
It is sad, since this is yet another problem that Obama inherited based on the blatant lack of regulation that ruled the George W. Bush presidency. But, it happened on Obama’s watch, and the way it is handled will no doubt be his responsibility.
To complicate matters further, an active hurricane season is predicted and many in the Caribbean anticipate the spread of oil, if it is not stopped soon, will reach the loop current, carrying millions of gallons of crude oil to the lifeblood of the Caribbean.
