John Metzler Archive

Pakistan: From hell to worse and, once again, it is the U.S. that is leading aid effort

The current floods which have swept the politically sensitive North West Frontier province and parts of the Punjab are near unprecedented. Said to be the worst flooding in over a century, the rising waters have killed 1,500 and displaced six million according to the UN. “The scale of this disaster (floods) rivals that of the earthquake in October 2005, but this time the geographic range is much greater,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated in New York.

Though international aid is flowing into the worst affected regions, naturally it is too little and probably too late. This is not the fault of the world community but rather the piecemeal and oft ineffective disaster management of the Islamabad government. During the flood crisis Pakistani President Ali Zardari was on an official visit to France and Britain.

The United States stands at the forefront of providing vital humanitarian assistance to the flood victims and the State Department has so far earmarked $35 million in aid. Some has been ferried in by US Army helicopters and C-130’s operating from nearby Afghanistan and over 500,000 halal meals have already been delivered.

As with the relief operations following the massive Pakistan earthquake in 2005, the USA is among the leaders in providing needed assistance.

Besides the humanitarian impulse, there’s a very wise investment (some would say a gamble) in helping the very state where militant Islam flourishes, where the central government and security services have played two sides in the Taliban conflict in Afghanistan, but where the hearts and minds of so very many poor and dejected citizens need help from where they can get it. Aid may not sway their core political sympathies but it certainly can’t hurt either.

Naturally Islamic charities, many linked to a spider web of militants, have thrived in providing assistance before and better than the central government. This was true in Turkey too after a major earthquake where Islamic charities with on the ground and with admittedly a “feel for” the local population, were able to provide faster than the central government in Ankara, but I digress.

Let’s face it, in this hearts and minds battle for the Muslim millions in Pakistan, especially in the vital Northwest Frontier area, many if not most people distrust the USA. This is nothing new and has little to do with who is in the White House. That there is a crude and visceral hatred against America (and Britain too) is not surprising; what they are going to do about it, is where we should be looking for solutions. Islamic fundamentalists and Al-Qaida operatives have no problem in defining the political parameters and opportunities arising from this natural calamity.

Face it, Washington needs to understand that while many of the Muslim masses (and their haughty intellengencia) instinctively will blame America first, they forget that the USA over the past two decades has played the good guy in helping Muslims from Bosnia to Somalia and Indonesia to Kosovo.

As a way to underscore the Obama Administration’s AF/PAK regional security strategy, Washington has pledged a massive $7.5 billion aid program over five years which also wisely includes $500 million for civilian projects. The United States will also provide $2 billion annually in military assistance. OK fine, I understand how this works. But ramping up humanitarian assistance is also a very wise investment; when people are desperate for help they will take it from where it comes. The fact that aid flows from America cannot be a bad move.

Reports indicate that much American aid is being given through the United Nations and its family of relief agencies such as the World Food Programme. Some is going though Islamic charities, and we must assume political games are being played. And let’s be blunt, some money will be diverted by corrupt officials into the Cayman Islands.

The point is by giving such assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) we are probably making a better long term investment than by buying the Pakistan military a few new aircraft. Such an investment is long term, but stability in South Asia remains a long term problem which just may be beginning.