Vacation -- all I ever wanted
Why is the United States initially pledging only about half as much as Spain to help the victims of the South Asia earthquake and tsunamis that killed more than 100,000 people this week and left millions homeless? And why did President Bush wait until today to make a public statement on the disaster? Both are good questions, but the answers lead in dramatically different directions.
The low initial relief aid number, which has been much bandied about in the press today, looks bad on the surface, but it likely isn't indicative of the amount of aid that the U.S. government intends to give. Secretary of State Colin Powell, one of the few remaining Bush administration officials still held in wide international esteem, estimated that U.S. assistance to the tsunami victims will eventually exceed $1 billion, and I suspect he's right. Common sense also dictates that relief money can't be spent effectively before officials can set up the infrastructure to disburse aid where it is needed most. Bush's failure not to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars up front might be a public-relations gaffe, but it likely doesn't suggest an unwillingness to help.
What's more troubling is that Bush didn't comment publicly on the destruction until today, three days after the monster waves crashed down on thousands of unsuspecting people. Swift condolences from a U.S. president admittedly provide little direct comfort to disaster victims half a world away, but they mean a lot to those countries' leaders, and it's hard to underestimate their importance in maintaining our country's international image as a place full of caring, generous people. The United States has some fences to mend after the Iraq war, and a quick expression of sympathy for earthquake victims in Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, certainly could have helped.
As it is, Bush's delay gives the world the impression that a natural disaster with a six-digit death toll just isn't enough for the leader of the most powerful nation in the world to interrupt his vacation.
The low initial relief aid number, which has been much bandied about in the press today, looks bad on the surface, but it likely isn't indicative of the amount of aid that the U.S. government intends to give. Secretary of State Colin Powell, one of the few remaining Bush administration officials still held in wide international esteem, estimated that U.S. assistance to the tsunami victims will eventually exceed $1 billion, and I suspect he's right. Common sense also dictates that relief money can't be spent effectively before officials can set up the infrastructure to disburse aid where it is needed most. Bush's failure not to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars up front might be a public-relations gaffe, but it likely doesn't suggest an unwillingness to help.
What's more troubling is that Bush didn't comment publicly on the destruction until today, three days after the monster waves crashed down on thousands of unsuspecting people. Swift condolences from a U.S. president admittedly provide little direct comfort to disaster victims half a world away, but they mean a lot to those countries' leaders, and it's hard to underestimate their importance in maintaining our country's international image as a place full of caring, generous people. The United States has some fences to mend after the Iraq war, and a quick expression of sympathy for earthquake victims in Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, certainly could have helped.
As it is, Bush's delay gives the world the impression that a natural disaster with a six-digit death toll just isn't enough for the leader of the most powerful nation in the world to interrupt his vacation.
posted by Alabamian at 7:25 PM
<< Home