State Department Billing Americans For Rescue From Lebanon

Wow...

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transporation arrangments, we will inform you about the costs you will incur.

Thad over at American Princess notes that "these weren't folks who decided to wait out a storm," an allusion to the many people in New Orleans who had plenty of warning that a hurricane was coming but did nothing to get out of its way.

That brings up an interesting comparison. Whatever your opinion about the government's rescue efforts in the wake of hurricane Katrina there is no denying that what the government did do was provided free of charge. So if American taxpayers can foot the bill for rescuing a bunch of their fellow citizens who refused to get out of the way of a hurricane, why can't they foot the bill for a bunch of Americans living abroad who suddenly find themselves in the midst of a war?

I'm not saying the government has to provide these folks with all-expenses-paid vacations until hostilities cease, but billing them for their rescue?

That seems a bit callous in light of what we do in terms of rescue for natural disasters.

Maybe we should be fair and start billing the folks who won't get out of the way of hurricanes for the rescue efforts to save them?