Bush Authorizes Aid For Afghan Refugees

[80sU2isBest]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush authorized the release of $100 million in humanitarian aid for Afghan refugees fleeing their country for neighboring Pakistan, CNN has confirmed.

An administration official said the aid will be used during the remainder of this calendar year and more aid is possible next year. The official said the aid could well take the form of food air drops, but that military planners were scrutinizing ways to make sure food drops would not fall into the hands of the ruling Taliban regime.

The official said the humanitarian aid is designed to address a mounting refugee crisis in Pakistan as Afghans flee in fear of a U.S. military strike. The Bush administration has leaned heavily on the support of Pakistan and wants to do what it can, the official said, to minimize or at least address the needs of refugees huddled in makeshift border camps.

The official would not comment on a report in The New York Times that the president has authorized direct, covert aid to forces that seek to overthrow the Taliban. A memo prepared for Bush by the National Security Council and the State Department made clear the U.S. will support a variety of forces seeking the Taliban's ouster.

"We do not want to choose who rules Afghanistan," said the memo, the contents of which CNN has obtained. "But we will assist those who seek a peaceful, economically developing Afghanistan, free of terrorism. Our quarrel is not with Islam or the Afghan people. We call on others to join us so we can help Afghans recover and rebuild."

On Sunday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld noted the array of forces seeking to end the Taliban rule and said the United States must find a way to support them.

"There is no question but that there are a substantial number of Afghans who do not favor the Taliban, find it repressive, don't agree with it, wish it were not there. It is also true that are any number in the Taliban who do not favor al Qaeda and wish it were not there.

"There are any number of factions within the Taliban and tribes in other parts of the country to say nothing of the Northern Alliance in the north that would like the entire crowd out of there, not just al Qaeda but the Taliban in addition. What does that mean? Well, it means that we need to find ways to encourage those people," said Rumsfeld.

 

[melon]

This is all good, but where is all this money coming from? I can see we will go back to the Reagan era $7 trillion debt at the end of Dubya's term here.

And we had to put in that tax cut. Can I say, "I told you so?" There was no room for emergencies, and assumed the economy would stay as strong as it did during Clinton's term.

And we had no money left for a lot of social programs, remember? Funny how we can come up with lots of money when the time is right.

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by melon:
This is all good, but where is all this money coming from? I can see we will go back to the Reagan era $7 trillion debt at the end of Dubya's term here.

That's funny, Melon. People complain that the US doesn't do enough to help other countries and aren't aware enough of other nations' problems (you posted that thread yourself), but when they learn that America IS helping, does that matter? No, all they do at that point is complain and say "oh where is the money coming from?".

 

[melon]

I'm not saying the help isn't good. Where were we helping when we weren't attacked? Now we are humanitarian all of a sudden? The people of Afghanistan have been hurting far longer than since September 11th.

And I do think it's good to ask where this money is coming from. It's our money Dubya's spending.

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[Sledgehammer]

Personally, I believe it's a VERY good thing, if there's no other motivation behind it. But, when it comes to politics -especially in a war period, I can't be so sure...

Knowing that, historically, the US goverment is not that sensible about these kind of things, some already said there might be political reasons behind this:

"Experts also urge the United States to improve its image by increasing aid to Afghan
refugees, as well as by helping to rebuild the economy." (Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 28)

A Pentagon official describes this air drop of food as a good way to "win the hearts and minds of the people world-wide" while "helping the effort to find terror groups inside Afghanistan." (Boston Globe, Sept. 27)



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"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." JFK

 

[Rono]

Originally posted by melon:
I'm not saying the help isn't good. Where were we helping when we weren't attacked? Now we are humanitarian all of a sudden? The people of Afghanistan have been hurting far longer than since September 11th.

And I do think it's good to ask where this money is coming from. It's our money Dubya's spending.

Melon

Come on, yes it is propaganda, but who cares.
If you have problems whit this i will make
a copy of the next U2 Album so you will save some bucks.




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I can`t change the world but i can
change the world in me.

Read you, Rono.

 

[speedracer]

Originally posted by melon:
I'm not saying the help isn't good. Where were we helping when we weren't attacked? Now we are humanitarian all of a sudden? The people of Afghanistan have been hurting far longer than since September 11th.

And I do think it's good to ask where this money is coming from. It's our money Dubya's spending.

Melon

Yeah, so maybe W will have to rescind the tax cut in a year or two. Big deal. Michael Dukakis learned the hard way about speaking frankly about taxes during his campaign.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Melon,

America gave Afghanistan $48 million dollars last year. No other western country gave so much to the Afghans.

Matthew

 

[foray]

Yes, I do think that this is a good move. I was not only surprised upon hearing this from my friends, but also impressed.

foray

 

[Rono]

Originally posted by Matthew_Page2000:
Melon,

America gave Afghanistan $48 million dollars last year. No other western country gave so much to the Afghans.

Matthew

How many U.S citizens are living in America ?

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

About 270 Million.
I understand where you're going with this Rono but you can't dispute the fact that the rest of the Western world wasn't doing a damn thing to help out either.

MP

 

[Vorsprung]

It's good what they do, I agree......but really, they don't really care about the Afghans, or any other people starving to death or living on a minimum. 'Cause if they (the Western world) really did, people simply wouldn't have to starve and live in extreme poverty. There is more than enough wealth on this planet to serve every person a good meal healthy meal every day. But WE don't care.......
What I'm simply trying to say is, it's nice to drop food but don't call yourself humanitarian all of a sudden!!

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Vorsprung durch Technik

 

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by Vorsprung:
It's good what they do, I agree......but really, they don't really care about the Afghans, or any other people starving to death or living on a minimum. 'Cause if they (the Western world) really did, people simply wouldn't have to starve and live in extreme poverty. There is more than enough wealth on this planet to serve every person a good meal healthy meal every day. But WE don't care.......
What I'm simply trying to say is, it's nice to drop food but don't call yourself humanitarian all of a sudden!!

Vorsprung, you are very inaccurate here. The US government gives TONS of money to feed the poor in other countries. Previous to these attacks, we've been spending an average of $127 million a year on Afganistan , for example, not to mention many other countries. So, to say that the US doesn't try to help other countries is, quite frankly, bullshit. The problem with many of these countries is that we send the food, then their oppressive regimes don't let them have it. That's how it was in Ethiopia, that's how it is with the Taliban.

 

[Vorsprung]

Bullshit!!!!!!!!!

There's so much poverty in the world that can easily disappear if we really want to..... And I'm not just about Ethiopia or Afghanistan. Cause be honest, those tons of millions the US spends are nothing compared to their GDP. I happen to know that the Dutch government spend (relatively) the most money on helping poor countries, and still......it's nothing!!!! We are so extremely rich!!!!!!!!!!!

But it's not just the government, western corporations are exploiting poor countries, cause we want to buy cheap stuff. And you can't get that if your sweater-company-employee wants to earn $2,- an hour.........
You know, a global minimum wage is accomplishable, if we really want it. But no, we're very sorry and compassionate for all those folks there, as long as we can still make that trip to the Bahamas, buy that new Ford, go to a $100 U2 concert hearing some multi-millionaire rant about debt relief and how little people in the developing world are.......
Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating here, maybe I'm not, but I'm just pissed off at the moment.....

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Vorsprung durch Technik

 

[80sU2isBest]

Vorsprung, I'm not saying that the Western World gives all it can. All I'm saying is that what you said about "the western world no caring" was inaccurate. We do care.

By the way, I'm curious. What are your plans to get more people to send money? Should we have the government FORCE people to give their money to certain causes? Can't do that.

[This message has been edited by 80sU2isBest (edited 10-11-2001).]