US relief role

Senator John Kerry, during his visit to Pakistan, appears quickly to have grasped the magnitude of flooding and what it will mean to the country. He has suggested that aid under the Kerry-Lugar Bill can be used for flood relief alongside additional assistance. There is obviously no alternative for the US. The bill was underpinned by the recognition that if Pakistan was to develop, it needed large-scale civil sector assistance, vital to fight off militancy. The post-flood situation means there can be no development until infrastructure is put back together. Going by what has been said in the past by senior US officials, it is obvious that Washington believes now is the time to prove itself a dedicated ally of Pakistan and win the friends it seeks in the country. There may be an element of opportunism in this; it is unfortunate that a disaster of this magnitude should be seen as a means to win points. But of course, in the world we live in today, real politik overrides all else.

One question is whether the tactics will work. Eradicating, at least in part, the hatred for the US that runs through our country is vital to curb the currents that militancy rides on in. It is possible the US aid and the sorties flown over flood areas by US pilots will have some impact. This happened after the 2005 earthquake as US aid flowed in and cartons marked with the stars and stripes arrived in the remote valleys of Allai and in other devastated areas. But Washington would do well to remember that the goodwill was short-lived. The world today is a more complex place than it was in the early Cold War years, when sweets dropped over East Berlin or chocolates over South Korea helped win friends.  Today, notions of injustice in global policy on the part of Washington and perceived bias against Muslims complicate the picture, meaning the task of wining hearts may prove a rather complex one.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2010.