Obama's Slow BP Cleanup - Incompetence or Malice?

So, is the Jones Act really slowing the BP clean up? Some folks want you to think it's not:

Experts agree: Jones Act has no effect on Gulf oil response

GOP's false talking point: Jones Act blocks Gulf help

Note how carefully the pro-Administration pieces are worded. Because there are 15 foreign-flagged vessels working the spill, this proves that the Jones Act "hasn't blocked anything."

No, it's only proof that it's not preventing 100% of foreign assistance. The operative question is, would we get any MORE assistance if it were waived? Put another way, why are there still state of the art oil skimming ships NOT working the spill, whose owners say they want to?

[Fox News quote]

Some of the best clean up ships – owned by Belgian, Dutch and the Norwegian firms are NOT being used. Coast Guard Lt. Commander, Chris O’Neil, says that is because they do not meet “the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command.” One of those operational requirements is that vessels comply with the Jones Act.
"Yes, it does apply,” said ONeil,“ I have heard no discussions of waivers.”

[...] And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered. “If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted,” said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. “But, we've not had that problem thus far.”

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is not so sure about that. He’s hearing from the folks back home in Florida, where they want all the skimmer ships they can get. He sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen today which read in part:

“Admiral, I believe the orange mousse of oil that is now in Florida’s waters is more than enough evidence that we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.”

[end Fox News quote]

I do think the Obama Administration should be proactively calling these ship owners and finding out what it would take to get them on scene. If it's a misunderstanding, clear it up. If it's a waiver, get the waiver.

[ABC News quote]

Within days of the spill, unsolicited a dozen countries and international organizations offered assistance to the US. That later expanded to 17 countries, and today the State Department announced that an 18th country, Qatar, has offered containment boom.

Of those countries, the US has accepted aid so far from four nations: Mexico, Canada, Norway, and the Netherlands.

[...]

According to a State Department official the 18 countries and four organizations that have offered assistance thus far are: Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UAE, UK, Vietnam, the European Maritime Safety Agency, the European Commission’s Monitoring and Information Center, the International Maritime Organization, the Environment Unit of the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Environment Program.

[end ABC News quote]

Maybe it's not the Jones Act at all -- maybe it's just the Administration saying "no" -- I can't tell, and I don't see the Administration clarifying it. What is clear is the Obama Administration is not doing "everything possible." I don't think it's because the economies being hurt are primarily Red State economies -- I think it's incompetence. Find me a better explanation.

Don't like these sources?  Perhaps you'd prefer Time Magazine:

[Time quote]

Fox News reported yesterday that the government was turning away foreign help in cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Is this the truth, or a partisan meme?

Shockingly, it's true. The Jones Act (or, more accurately, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) mandates that ships working in U.S. waters must have been made in America and crewed by Americans. The administration has generally gotten around this requirement by transferring foreign technology to US ships, but the act's provisions mean that offers of Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian skimming ships have been rebuffed.
[end Time quote]

Not good enough? Try the Dutch newspaper De Standaard:

[De Standaard teaser text in translation]

"U.S. oil fighting with outdated technology"
Monday, June 7, 2010 Author: (lc)

BRUSSELS - Belgian and Dutch dredgers have technology in-house to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to fight. But the "Jones Act "forbids them to work in the U.S.

[end De Standaard teaser text in translation]

A little more background on the Administration's refusal even to admit it got offers of aid, from Foreign Policy:

[Foreign Policy]

When State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley refused to tell reporters which countries have offered assistance to help respond to the BP oil spill, the State Department press corps was flabbergasted.

"As a policy matter, we're not going to identify those offers of assistance until we are able to see, you know, what we need, assess the ongoing situation. And as we accept those offers of assistance, we will inform you," Crowley said.

Reporters pointed out that the Bush administration identified assistance offers after the Katrina disaster, so what is this, a new policy? They pressed Crowley, but he refused to budge.

Then they mentioned Iran's offer of assistance, through its National Iranian Drilling Company. Crowley said there was no Iranian offer of assistance, at least in any official capacity. The reporters kept on it, asking why it was taking so long to figure out what was needed in the first place? That's the Coast Guard's decision, Crowley explained.

Late Wednesday evening, the State Department emailed reporters identifying the 13 entities that had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance. They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

"These offers include experts in various aspects of oil spill impacts, research and technical expertise, booms, chemical oil dispersants, oil pumps, skimmers, and wildlife treatment," the email read.

"While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future."

The Obama administration has been relentless in its messaging that it is doing everything possible to aggressively respond to the oil spill. But for the record, the current message to foreign governments is: Thanks but no thanks, we've got it covered.

A State Department official, speaking on background, said that the decision not to initially release the names of offering countries came directly from the State Department leadership.

[end Foreign Policy]

I've got a dozen papers, foreign and US, quoting foreign ship owners saying the Jones Act is preventing them from helping. Maybe Murdoch owns all those foreign ships? Or all the foreign papers?

Finally there's this report that of 2,000 skimmers in the US, only 400 have been used in the Gulf, with federal rules preventing transfer of others.

If you want to label this competence, go ahead. I can't.