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CSM - Kerry : US committing another $150M to Pakistan relief that SoS Clinton will announce today

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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 07:33 AM
Original message
CSM - Kerry : US committing another $150M to Pakistan relief that SoS Clinton will announce today
Edited on Thu Aug-19-10 07:55 AM by karynnj
We have already committed $90 Million. Pakistan is the most dangerous issue in the world today - a weak government that is the best hope they have, several terrorist groups and nuclear weapons - and now a major disaster. Hollbrooke this morning referred to flooded land in Pakistan as covering an area the size of Italy.


Amid United Nations reports of lagging aid for the Pakistan floods, the United States is set to increase aid to Pakistan to $150 million following the worst disaster in the country’s history, Sen. John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts announced on Thursday.
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Speaking from the Ghazi airforce base where American military aircraft are making deployments into flood-affected territory in the north-west, such as the Swat Valley, he stressed that the US did not wish to see extremists profiting from the disaster. “We don't want additional jihadists, extremists coming out of a crisis,” he said.

<snip>
Senator Kerry, who co-authored a $7.5 billion civilian aid bill to Pakistan and heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, arrived in Pakistan late Wednesday and is set to meet the country’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari, today. He is the first high-ranking US politician to visit the region after the disaster struck.

His visit serves the dual purpose of demonstrating US commitment to a country that it views as vital to its regional strategic interests, and cajoling other nations into increasing their levels of aid as the UN holds an emergency meeting in New York to call for more international aid. So far, the UN says it has raised half of the $460 million requested.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0819/Pakistan-floods-As-international-aid-lags-US-announces-increase
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saltpoint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 07:36 AM
Response to Original message
1. Recommended.
Do we owe people we have never met and likely will never meet support and aid and mercy? We do.

Are Kerry's points valid and persuasive? They are.

And pray tell, which Republican Senators have been as clear and proactive regarding the flooding disaster in Pakistan? None.

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blm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 08:53 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. Amazing that this isn't a focus of broadcast newsmedia....but, it won't be. They'll find every which
Edited on Thu Aug-19-10 08:54 AM by blm
way they can to ignore the important work Kerry does and has been doing for some time in that region. Watch....and, I'd bet my house on this....there will be little coverage of Kerry and the US efforts in Pakistan until Clinton gets in front of cameras and the newsmedia credits her with all the heavy lifting done by Kerry....yet again.
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saltpoint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 09:00 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. Totally agree.
Hi, blm.

The man has done a tall mountain of worthy things for decades and the media ignore every one of them.

The media are stingy to liberals generally but to certain liberals especially, John Kerry being one of the more high-profile ones.

Kerry really does the "heavy lifting." There's the heart and mind of it right there.

:thumbsup:
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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. I wonder if on this, the reason is how absolutely unusual it is that it is
not the Secretary of State or the special envoy to Pakistan/Afghanistan who, at delicate moments has been the one really leading.

Kerry did get a lot of praise when he was able to persuade Karzai to honor the election process, but within a month there were stories - using basically identical comments to Kerry's attributed to Hillary Clinton, who, some articles claimed, persuaded Karzai over the phone. Then there were articles when she attended his inauguration that spoke of her "special" relationship with Karzai and how she would influence him on corruption.

Less known, on the same trip, was Kerry's efforts to tamp down anger in Pakistan on some of the provisions demanding transparency in Kerry/Lugar/Berman, which was Kerry's, Biden's and Hagel's attempt to try to win hearts and minds by really helping people. Kerry, in speaking of many countries, has often stressed the importance of being the ones providing needed basic services. On his trip, he did succeed in gaining some trust, though they were not happy. Hillary on a visit where she announced 10 projects, ended up angering them with an angrycrack about their knowing where OBL was. Now, Holbrooke was very complementary to Kerry in the SFRC speaking of his personal diplomacy and of the committee's bill, but when interviewed on TV, he did not mention Kerry's role.

What is kind of telling was that neither Holbrooke or Clinton seemed to be mentioned much on Afghanistan when the McChrystal issue hit. This is actually more surprising for Holbrooke as these are the two countries he is a special envoy for - yet he has not been to Pakistan since before the floods started.
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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 07:57 AM
Response to Original message
2. International Herald Tribune article


GHAZI AIR BASE: US Foreign Relations Committee head Senator John Kerry has said that millions of dollars from the Kerry-Lugar Bill will be diverted for flood aid, which will have no strings attached to it.

Addressing soldiers at the Ghazi air base, Kerry has said the US feels it is extremely crucial to invest in Pakistan and wants it to quickly deal with the flood situation.

Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-authored a record $7.5 billion aid bill for Pakistan, is the first senior US policymaker to visit since the disaster struck, affecting 20 million people.
<snip>
Pakistan is a top US foreign policy priority due to concerns over extremism as Washington tries to bring a swift end to the nine-year war against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.



http://tribune.com.pk/story/40767/kerry-visits-pakistan-2/
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BootinUp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-19-10 08:01 AM
Response to Original message
3. A necessary move I'm sure. nt
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