Compare and contrast the initial responses of two 'major world powers' to the Haitian earthquake disaster. Within 24 hours, the USA had sent in hospital and assault ships and an aircraft carrier with 19 helicopters, the 82nd Airborne division with 3,500 troops and hundreds of medical personnel. It put the country's small airport back on an operational footing. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the European Union (EU) geared itself up with a Brussels press conference led by its High Representative. A small group of bored-looking journalists in the Commission's lavishly-appointed press room heard her stumbling through a prepared statement in which she said that she had conveyed her 'condolences' to the UN Secretary General and pledged three million Euros in aid. The USA's willingness to act proves that it is the only genuine superpower.