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Democracy Now! - Tsunami relief is not a priority for Bush
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/29/161210
While the Bush administration has pledged to play a major role in the
relief effort, it is already coming under criticism for its handling of
the crisis.
On Monday, the Bush administration pledged an initial $15 million for the
effort. After a top UN official described the donation as stingy, the US
pledged another $20 million bringing the total offering to $35 million.
To put the figure in perspective, President Bush plans to spend between
$30 and $40 million for his upcoming inauguration celebration.
And the amount pledged to victims of the tsunami is dwarfed by the Bush
administration's war effort in Iraq.
The U.S. has spent an average of $9.5 million every hour on the war and
occupation of Iraq. With a current price tag of $147 billion, the U.S. has
spent n average of about $228 million a day in Iraq. In other words, the
U.S. spends what it promised on the tsunami relief effort in less than
four hours in Iraq.
http://www.juancole.com/
As John F. Harris and Robin Wright of the Washington Post cannily note
[see below], US President George W. Bush has missed an important
opportunity to reach out to the Muslims of Indonesia. The Bush
administration at first pledged a paltry $15 million, a mysteriously
chintzy response to what was obviously an enormous calamity. Bush himself
remained on vacation, and now has reluctantly agreed to a meeting of the
National Security Council by video conference. If Bush were a statesman,
he would have flown to Jakarta and announced his solidarity with the
Muslims of Indonesia (which has suffered at least 40,000 dead and rising).
Indeed, the worst-hit area of Indonesia is Aceh, the center of a Muslim
separatist movement, and a gesture to Aceh from the US at this moment
might have meant a lot in US-Muslim public relations. Bin Laden and
Zawahiri sniffed around Aceh in hopes of recruiting operatives there,
being experts in fishing in troubled waters. Doesn't the US want to
outflank al-Qaeda? As it is, the president of the United States is
invisible and on vacation (unlike several European heads of state), and
could think of nothing better to do than announce a paltry pledge. As
Harris and Wright rightly say, the rest of the world treated the US much
better than this after September 11...
http://snipurl.com/bo2g
Aid Grows Amid Remarks About President's Absence
By John F. Harris and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A01
The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment
yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean
tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been
insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.
As the death toll surpassed 50,000 with no sign of abating, the U.S.
Agency for International Development added $20 million to an earlier
pledge of $15 million to provide relief, and the Pentagon dispatched an
aircraft carrier and other military assets to the region. Secretary of
State Colin L. Powell, in morning television appearances, chafed at a top
U.N. aid official's comment on Monday that wealthy countries were being
stingy with aid. The United States is not stingy, Powell said on CNN.
Although U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland yesterday withdrew
his earlier comment, domestic criticism of Bush continued to rise.
Skeptics said the initial aid sums -- as well as Bush's decision at first
to remain cloistered on his Texas ranch for the Christmas holiday rather
than speak in person about the tragedy -- showed scant appreciation for
the magnitude of suffering and for the rescue and rebuilding work facing
such nations as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
After a day of repeated inquiries from reporters about his public absence,
Bush late yesterday afternoon announced plans to hold a National Security
Council meeting by teleconference to discuss several issues, including the
tsunami, followed by a short public statement.
Bush's deepened public involvement puts him more in line with other world
figures. In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cut short his vacation
and returned to work in Berlin because of the Indian Ocean crisis, which
began with a gigantic underwater earthquake. In Britain, the predominant
U.S. voice speaking about the disaster was not Bush but former president
Bill Clinton, who in an interview with the BBC said the suffering was like
something in a horror movie, and urged a coordinated international
response.
Earlier yesterday, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president
was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to
Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of
the day clearing
