The Great Satan at Work

From the AP:

GUINSAUGON, Philippines -- Several dozen U.S. Marines dug through thick mud with Philippine search teams Sunday at the site of a massive landslide as the prospect of finding survivors faded.

The men were part of a 1,000-strong Marine contingent aboard the USS Essex and the USS Harper's Ferry, which sailed to the coast of Southern Leyte province after the Philippines asked Washington to divert some forces that recently arrived for joint military exercises.

Wearing camouflage, they hopped onto a bulldozer that carried them across a shallow stream and to the 100-acre stretch of mud that covered the farming village of Guinsaugon after the side of an neighboring mountain collapsed Friday.

The men used shovels, like Philippine troops and volunteers, out of concern that heavier equipment could cause the unstable mud to shift dangerously.

"Safety is a big concern," said Capt. Jeff O'Donnell of New Orleans, who said that, while his home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, "This is my first time to see anything like this."
.....
By the end of the day, about 200 Marines were on the ground, with hundreds more expected to come ashore Monday.

While at the same time:

Left-wing activists staged a peaceful protest on Sunday outside the US Embassy, demanding the withdrawal of American troops who arrived on southern Jolo island to conduct humanitarian projects.

The protesters, who included Muslim activists, also demanded the scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

So, unlike me to criticize, but maybe these people would have better served their fellow countrymen if they got their hands a little dirty and looked for survivors instead of criticizing the Marines that were. But in a time where cartoons trigger riots and murder, is it any wonder that perspective and reason are wholly ignored?