Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id OAA09310 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 20 Jan 2002 14:33:40 GMT From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Knowledge, Memes and Sensory Perception Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 09:02:06 -0500 Message-ID: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAGENLCJAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) In-Reply-To: <200201200435.g0K4ZiJ13635@mail9.bigmailbox.com> X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 Importance: Normal Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
US food (and other) aid to Afghanistan went all over the country. I imagine
some of it ended up with the Pushtans as well.
USAID has long struggled over the issue of whether or not to keep its
humanitarian programs independent of the governments political and military
objectives. The nadir for USAID came when they were used as cover for the
Phoenix program in VietNam. Even now, the USAID budget is horribly skewed to
meet political objectives. But in the background, and usually with
inadequate funding, USAID has managed to maintain a genuine humanitarian
program in some 70 countries. I believe that this is a tremendously
important activity for the US -- especially in the light of Sept. 11 -- and
should be dramatically increased. Last year, we gave $120 million in
humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, way down from previous years, but
nonetheless, as you point out, more than anyone else. Bosnia and the
'war-on-drugs' in Colombia had, among other political objectives, sopped up
the funds... The US is now pledging a longer term commitment, but has not
yet announced dollar amounts.
Lawrence
> >Who is 'conveniently forgetting'?
> >
> >> And people conveniently forget that before 9/11, the US was the
> >> single largest (by a wide margin) provider of food aid to
> >> Afghanistan, and that this has not just continued, but
> >> accelerated.
> >
> I'm just making the point that the US has saved far more lives
> than they have taken in that country. The exact reverse can be
> stated of Al Quaeda and their Taliban harborers.>
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