Comments (50)
Share this article
Print this page
Email a friend
- RSS
- Today's Paper
- Subscribe
- beta 2.0
High: 27°C
Low: 9°C
Alerts
With ‘enemies’ like these, who needs friends?
The United States on Wednesday upped its assistance for Pakistan’s flood affectees from $76 million to $90 million.
An American serviceman stands on board the USS Peleliu, the base of relief operations in flood affected areas of the country. PHOTO: GIBRAN PESHIMAM
ABOARD THE USS PELELIU: While a number of countries widely regarded as being close to Pakistan are trudging their way towards lending a helping hand to tens of millions of Pakistanis affected by the devastating floods, the one country that is looked at with most suspicion, if not outright hatred, continues to spearhead the relief effort.
The United States on Wednesday upped its assistance for Pakistan’s flood affectees from $76 million to $90 million – a figure that is by far the largest on the donors list. In fact, the figure is as much as the next three donors on the list combined.
Aside from the provision of goods and monetary aid, one of the methods of assistance being provided by the US is the use of its aircraft, which is at the moment the most important factor in the relief effort given the destruction of the road network in Pakistan.
Some 19 US helicopters have been brought for use in Pakistan and 15 are already operating in the country – helping provide relief goods as well as airlifting stranded people. These include three Navy MH-53E Sea Dragons and four Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallions – machines that rank up there in terms of size and capability. They can carry more than 55 people and a payload of 15 tons.
There are also 12 CH-46E Sea Knights – medium-sized aircraft which can carry 25 passengers and has a takeoff weight of about 11 tons.
These helicopters have basically been put at the disposal of the Pakistan government, since they operate in full coordination with Islamabad as well as the armed forces of Pakistan, which are in the midst of their own respective efforts to help millions of Pakistanis recover from a disaster of biblical proportions.
Over a dozen additional aircraft are expected in coming days to supplement the assistance.
Standing aboard the USS Peleliu, the American vessel that brought most of the helicopters towards the Pakistani coast to begin relief and rescue operations, Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris, the commander of the relief operation, briefed the media about the efforts currently underway on the part of the United States.
He spoke of the almost immediate orders given to the vessel to move towards Pakistan from Bahrain to assist in flood relief efforts.
Rear Admiral Haris, who also worked on the relief effort for one of the US’ most potent natural disasters, Hurricane Katrina, puts it plainly.
“People want to know just how bad it is; I tell them that New Orleans was devastated after Katrina – but that pales in comparison to what has happened in Pakistan.”
The 2,100-strong crew of the Peleliu stands aboard the massive – over 39,000 ton, 820 foot – vessel docked off the coast of Karachi – in international waters. And though they may not say it, it is clear they do not want to tread on the sensitive issue of sovereignty.
United States Consul General in Karachi William Martin visited the Peleliu on Wednesday and thanked the crew for their effort. He also highlighted the philosophy of the US and President Barack Obama regarding the relief effort.
“Admiral Haris, I want to thank you and the men and women of ESG5 for your selfless determination to help thousands and thousands of desperate people whose lives have been devastated by the unprecedented floods in Pakistan.”
Speaking of his visit to a camp set up in Karachi a day earlier, the C-G said: “I saw the pain and devastation in their eyes. It is easy to talk about numbers, numbers of victims, quantity of aid, but what I saw yesterday, the sick children, the frightened and helpless mothers, it touches our common humanity and makes our differences seem petty.”
Martin added that: “More than 440,000 meals, halal meals, were delivered to Pakistan within 36 hours of the initial flooding. We have now committed US$90 million to support relief efforts in Pakistan, including funding for the United Nations and many local and international NGOs.
“For example, the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided nourishment to over 840,000 flood-affected Pakistanis. More than half of that food has been donated by the United States.”
When asked to comment on the irony of helping people many of whom have a less than compassionate view of the US, Rear Admiral Harris said that the mission is not focused on that aspect, or that of image building.
“It’s just about helping the people at the moment”, he said, adding, “it is a matter of humanity – nothing else.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2010.
Reader Comments (50)
Latest News
India's Jadeja lands $2 million IPL jackpot
Jadeja joins Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma in the $2-million-a-year bracket.
FIA arrests key member of international human trafficking network
Ajab Gul alias Raja Humayun was wanted in 15 cases and 50 inquiries.
Eid milad-un-nabi: No Sunday Bazaar this week
Sunday Bazaar will remain closed on account of Eid Milad-un-Nabi.
Announcement: SSUET to remain closed today
University will remain closed due to Eid Milad-u-Nabi (PBUH).
New administration: DCET forms management committee
Dr Muhammad Nasim, adviser to the DCET principal, will serve as its convener.
Recent Slideshows
More in Pakistan
Flood appeal raises $227 million: UN
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or derived from.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is copyrighted © 2012 The Express Tribune News Network.
Technical feedback? webmaster@tribune.com.pk
Can say nothing more but, Thanks United States of America, thanks President Obama,Thanks Ms Hillary Clinton and thanks Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris and his men & women for all what they are doing for alleviating the sufferings of the affectees.Recommend
I hope this will improve the image of US in the minds of average Pakistani’s, because people affected by the floods (mostly poor farmers & laborers) are the breading ground for militancy against the west & especially towards US.Recommend
America stand for a lot of good in the world and it is high time we realised that. No country is an angel but when you add it all up, the balance is highly in favour of the good ol’ US of A.
Thanks you America and God Bless for standing with pakistan.Recommend
This is how you win hearts and minds.Recommend
Thank you US! we appreciate your efforts and energy you put into help Pakistanis…..God Bless you guys!Recommend
Thank You USA for helping us in our time of need.Recommend
The US should not give a single penny to Govt but to spend on the peoples of flood victims directly. Now US is doing well, this should have done many years ago that spending the money direct on the peoples of Pakistan. If the aid got with the Govt it will be looted totally. all the Govt. is corrupt I have never see such CORRUPT govt in life. Oh my God…… Govt crying for aid and begging from abroad rather than doing something itself. Shame….Recommend
thanks president obama for your support to PakistanisRecommend
Though my opinion of US was effected negatively in recent times, I have realized yet again why they are so blessed. The good they do around the world is far too great and increasingly overlooked. I commend them and I am grateful we have an ally like US.
God Bless USA.Recommend
US People are one of biggest chairty donors- as compared to our next door so called brothers in Middle East who have plenty of money to buy a car number-plate worth 20Million $ but don’t come forward in such devastating scenarios…Recommend
The paragraph sums it all.
“I saw the pain and devastation in their eyes. It is easy to talk about numbers, numbers of victims, quantity of aid, but what I saw yesterday, the sick children, the frightened and helpless mothers, it touches our common humanity and makes our differences seem petty.”Recommend
Sudden change in views of pakistanis against US WoWRecommend
God Bless USA!!!
I commend all commentators above for such a fantastic support and great words at the right time.
It is now the time, that Pakistanis look objectively through the smoke and find their real friends who are USA – and, line up against real enemies within – who purport hateful extremism and hateful vitriot idealogy and rhetoric.
USA and Pakistan can work together to rout out negative forces. Bravo!!!!Recommend
Proud to be a Pakistani American!Recommend
thankyou america for your support in this time of need.Recommend
God Bless America and all the human beings from different parts of the world, who are helping fellow human beings devastated by floods in Pakistan. I am proud to be a Canadian and a neighbour of great country USA. Thanks America for taking leading role in providing relief to flood victims.Recommend
@Vish, Pakistan was always the most “allied ally of US” until 1990 when US abandoned it and left it on the mercy of tens of thousands of armed and victorious guerrillas and then to top all that slapped economic and military sanctions against Pakistan. Would you not change your views about America after all that loyalty spanning 4 decades? However, I will be the happiest person in the world if things go back to pre-1990 era, but of course you Indians will again feel uncomfortable. What India ever did for the United States? We were the ones fighting with them overtly and covertly against the Soviets while India was sleeping with the Soviets. We defeated the Red Army in partnership with the US while India was receiving aid and equipment from the same army. U2 spy planes were flying from American bases inside Pakistan since the 50′s and 60′s while India was spying for the enemy. Don’t act all cozy with the US now, you guys have done nothing to help them. Now hopefully you will understand some of the resentment that exists in Pakistan today against the US which hopefully will go away with time.Recommend
Long live USA! Thank you, President Obama!Recommend
THANKS!!! I HEART USA!Recommend
Thank you America.Your men and women are saving lives of those who face grave danger from the flood.The relief supplies you send are precious gifts for calamity stricken people.Your news media has given effective coverage to this horrible disaster and its immediate consequences.A friend in need is a friend indeed.Recommend
Thank you for always being the first to step up. Its not difficult to see what makes America great.Recommend
Angelina Jolie donated 100,000 dollors; thats almost equal to the sum donated by Nawaz sharif.Recommend
Where is China, the closest ally since 1949, and all the rich muslim countries? All Pakisatanis should be thankful to USA. This the only country which has the most compassion as well as the resources. USA was the first to help during sunami and earth quakes in Pakistan & Haiti.Recommend
Its a Trap to win over Pakistani hearts so that they feel no reluctancy in submitting to the USA. USA = THE SWEET-KNIFE.Recommend
What they are doing for the flood relief is what they do around the globe. it adds to their image in the world. but one should not forget what they have done in Afghanistan and Iraq and what they are doing in destabilising Pakistan. so wake up nation and dont give into emotions which are not supported by logic. may Allah show us the truth as truth is and make us to follow it and may Allah show us falsehood as falsehood and make us to avoid it, amin.
may Allah help the flood victims. We are not beggers to look towards american aid………….dont forget Aafia Siddiqui………Recommend
Valeed, be an honorable Pakistani and refuse to accept the aid and pledge you will never go to USA.Recommend
God Bless AmericaRecommend
Aid thousands of flood effecties and kill thousands in a drone attack. Not a bad trade off ….. US.Recommend
US is investing in what is called the great game. Pakistan is just a little pawn in this great game. We have been living off American aid since 1948. We should be thankful to the American taxpayers in particular for all the aid we have enjoyed for half a century.Recommend
Perhaps they should start with reimbursing us for “their” war which we are fighting on their behalf?Recommend
US has been supporting Pakistan since Pakistan’s inception. During Bhutto’s regime, Pakistan were way too short of necessary weapons even to defend India’s attack. At that time, Bhutto sent Mustafa Khar to talk to US president, and ask for help.Recommend
KSA has aided more than US but i think there is a marketing strategy going on Express tribune web for USARecommend
@Qasim … yes US has been supporting Pakistan since Pakistan’s inception in the form of loans. That’s why today single person of Pakistan is a debtor of more than RS 50,000.Recommend
I can see from the most comments that most people need a grip on the issues. Yes the whole world should help the victims. As for the US help, a big THANK YOU but that doesn’t give the US a right to blame China or Iran etc for not helping Pakistan enough.
Pakistan hasn’t lost thousands of lives because of China’s war on terror or Iran’s war. It is the US’s War on Terror. Thank you for the Aid but don’t blame other donors, this is not what friends do when giving a few millions!! They are the ones who stood by Pakistan in wars while the US put sanctions/arms embargo. According to US’s own estimates, Pakistan suffered losses of more than 60 Billion dollars because of your wars, not China or Iran’s! No one is compensating Pakistan for that while they are happy to waste more than a TRILLION US dollars in Iraq/Afghanistan!
Don’t blame Pakistan for the US’s ‘game theory’. Our unelected rulers played their part but the main blame should be on the one who had more resources/powers to force others. Watch Hilary Clinton speaking the truth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQPiv01BW3URecommend
I wonder why they are helping Pakistan. Has America ever helped any country without any reason? According to a report by CNN, Pakistan is playing a double role, using US for money and at the same time, helping Taliban. Well, they are helping Pakistan right now, so that they can later use or manipulate our government / country’s policies.
They have always been doing this. First showing the world that they are kind and helping, and later on, imposing their wishes on us ( the so called third world state ).
It’s not war against terrorism. In 1990′s we saw war of communism and now its war against Islam. Islamic ideologies are different from those of Americans. Obviously, when a new school of thought arises, one gets scared. Its war against ideology.
Islam is a religion of piece and brotherhood. We Pakistani’s are not poor. The elites of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad etc can raise enough to help the flood victims.
May Allah guide us !Recommend
If one understands foreign policy and international relations,it is so obvious that US is doing out of mutual interest,it is not on humanatarian grounds,if there would have been any humanity concern there,Palestine,Iraq,Afghanistan and northern areas of pakistan etc would not be in such state due to US.Recommend
You wonder why the US is helping Pakistan – you wonder because you don’t understand the spirit that America has to help others in their time of need – you don’t understand this because this spirit does not exist in Pakistan; despite all your cries of Islam being all about peace and brotherhood – you don’t really practice this ‘brotherhood’ by helping and reaching out. How many Pakistanis go out and volunteer their time and effort regularly? Look at the faces of these people, their misery is not just due to the floods, this misery, this poverty is lifelong for them. See the pictures of the children with hair discolored due to malnutrition? That did not happen in the last few days; that happened over their miserable little lives because they live in this ‘Islamic’ nation. You can cry about lives lost in drone attacks, but what do you do for the millions still alive? t. You always talk about America not being a good friend, but has Pakistan ever been a good friend to America , or to anyone?Recommend
Holiness lies in your actions!Recommend
This proves beyond any doubts that US only has well being and good of Pakistan at it’s heart, in fact same applies to the entire western world. Stop listening to all these narrow minded radical, and deliberately paranoid leaders about conspiracy theories of how the world is out to hurt and harm pakistan. This a warning from Allah that it’s high time we give up nonsensical ideas such as sponsoring terrorism in afghanistan, our other neighbors and absurdities such as strategic depth. It’s time to start strategising for the survival of people of Pakistan and the nation.Recommend
America, I couldn’t imagine you playing the ‘relief efforts’ card and winning the hearts, but our naive men are falling prey to your simplistic confidence gaining measures.Recommend
This aid is peanut against the damaged they have caused to the nation. US needs to do more to win hearts and minds of Pakistanis.Recommend
Thx AmericaRecommend
The U S A has already claimed that the aid being given is a “PR” stunt to win the hearts and minds of the Pakistani Nation. They are showing the right hand just to hit them with the left hand. I would not call it aid but would rather call it an investment for the U S A. It would be nice to see them also give aid to the hundres of people being effeted by the relentless drone attacks being carried out by them.Recommend
@ Tanzeel Its very easy to blame everything on the US. What we fail to do is look at our own selves!! I don’t think The US has done any damage to us rather I think it is we Pakistanis who have done damaged to our ownselves! We could have easily benefited from the United States to gain political and economic stability through billions of aid which we have received in the past several years. Yet we failed to build any dams or power plants or ANYTHING for that matter. So now when they are coming and helping us out at this moment of need the least we can do is appreciate!!!Recommend
THANKYOU USA we regard u as the bestest of friends and allies. our nation is ungrateful to ur help and they r ignorant. when ever we need u u r thr to help.thankyou again for this.dnt listen to extremistsRecommend
@ Tanzeel!they didnt cause the floods and neither did they create the extremist monster in this country. it is our very own isi who did it ..learn to accept things than blame other for ur ills. they r tryin to help in any way possible. atleast they r better thn other stupid muslim countries who have no know how but sell oil and earn money, but have nothing to offer us!Recommend
Thank You USA, its administration and also the people. There are many charity organizations and also many individuals who leave no stone unturned when it comes to helping the people in need so ladies and gentlemen this is the right time to come forward and help those who are asking to SOS.Recommend
ahem! where is OIC? and volunteers from those countries if not their armies and (islamic mission) groups? where are the groups who at the drop of a hat talk about jihad and tableegh? don’t they want to do some PR? where are those who shout islam is in danger? any choppers and life saving devices and equipment from super rich sheikhdoms? Thank You US, and Thank You ms clinton for telling our corrupt to the core and created-by-dictators (so called democratic) politicians not to politicize the situation.Recommend
Thanks for the aid US. Everyone is loosing the overall context here.
Thanks for the aid that’s great.
But it does not washout what it has been in Afghanistan and all the drone attacks.
Well, the game of Taliban Taliban was going very well and yet playground got water all over it so it has to be dried out as soon as possible to resume the play.Recommend
people and organisations with strong belief in Allah doesn’t need to advertise what they are donating in the way of Allah. We need to pray and take help from Allah and also thank Him rather than begging USA.Recommend