A Marshall Plan For South Asia (NOT)
R7 Note:
What the author suggest in this editorial in the L.A. Times is just disguised militarism. I say shove your so-called Marshall Plan...just show them the money. $350 million is still shamefully inadequate given the magnitude of this disaster. The UN is the proper avenue for aid to disasters not the capo di capo US... Oh, and by the way, Jeb should stay home.
All of this conveyed the impression that Americans don't value the lives of people in poor countries as much as they value their own, or European, lives. Most of us have been guilty of shrugging our shoulders in the past over natural disasters in South Asia. How much attention did we pay in 1991, for instance, when a cyclone claimed nearly 140,000 lives in Bangladesh?
A Marshall Plan for South Asia
If a tsunami were to strike Northern Europe, killing more than 100,000 people from Ireland to Sweden, does anybody think it would take President Bush 72 hours to speak up about the tragedy and call leaders of the devastated countries?
In fairness to the vacationing president, the full magnitude of the natural disaster in the Indian Ocean wasn't apparent immediately after the undersea earthquake and the ensuing tsunami struck a week ago today. Still, there is no disputing that the first response of the American president and government, seen as omnipotent in much of the world, was lackadaisical and stingy. When Bush finally spoke Wednesday, Spain's pledge of relief funds was nearly double that of the U.S., and even that U.S. contribution ($35 million) came only after heavy criticism of Washington.
All of this conveyed the impression that Americans don't value the lives of people in poor countries as much as they value their own, or European, lives. Most of us have been guilty of shrugging our shoulders in the past over natural disasters in South Asia. How much attention did we pay in 1991, for instance, when a cyclone claimed nearly 140,000 lives in Bangladesh?
Bush's announcement Friday that the United States will contribute $350 million, 10 times the earlier amount, can go far to show that Washington will act boldly overseas in response to natural calamities, not just military threats. Sending his brother Jeb to the disaster area also symbolizes the U.S. concern. But we also urge Bush to propose a Marshall Plan-like strategy for the region that would commit billions of dollars for long-term programs like water purification and improved sanitation systems.
The president would be wise to travel to the region in coming weeks. There is no need for a grandstanding tour of devastated communities, but a respectful visit to national capitals to express our nation's condolences and to ask how the president could help would go a long way toward rehabilitating the U.S. image in the world.
If conservatives in the president's own party balk at a multibillion-dollar Marshall Plan for South Asia, Bush shouldn't hesitate to employ his favorite marketing ploy: Peg the effort to the war on terror by pointing out the strategic importance of the region. Indonesia, the most severely affected nation, also happens to be the world's largest Muslim country, where most practice a moderate form of the religion but the government battles extremists.
Offering humanitarian assistance could inoculate Indonesians against sympathy for terrorists. An all-out effort by the U.S. to help a Muslim country would also counter those across the Muslim world who preach that the West is out to undermine all Muslim societies.
Beyond Indonesia, Sri Lanka fights Tamil terrorists, Thailand worries about Muslim separatists in the south, and India works hard to maintain peace among its many religious and ethnic communities while seeking to improve ties with Pakistan. All four nations are natural allies of the U.S., democracies of the kind Bush repeatedly says he wants to see flourish.
The U.S. spends a bit over one-tenth of 1% of its national income on aid, less than any other developed nation. A massive American-led Marshall Plan for South Asia would cost only a fraction of the nearly $225 billion requested so far to pay for the Iraq war. And, without a doubt, it would be a far wiser investment in the war on terror.
L.A. Times Editorial
What the author suggest in this editorial in the L.A. Times is just disguised militarism. I say shove your so-called Marshall Plan...just show them the money. $350 million is still shamefully inadequate given the magnitude of this disaster. The UN is the proper avenue for aid to disasters not the capo di capo US... Oh, and by the way, Jeb should stay home.
All of this conveyed the impression that Americans don't value the lives of people in poor countries as much as they value their own, or European, lives. Most of us have been guilty of shrugging our shoulders in the past over natural disasters in South Asia. How much attention did we pay in 1991, for instance, when a cyclone claimed nearly 140,000 lives in Bangladesh?
A Marshall Plan for South Asia
If a tsunami were to strike Northern Europe, killing more than 100,000 people from Ireland to Sweden, does anybody think it would take President Bush 72 hours to speak up about the tragedy and call leaders of the devastated countries?
In fairness to the vacationing president, the full magnitude of the natural disaster in the Indian Ocean wasn't apparent immediately after the undersea earthquake and the ensuing tsunami struck a week ago today. Still, there is no disputing that the first response of the American president and government, seen as omnipotent in much of the world, was lackadaisical and stingy. When Bush finally spoke Wednesday, Spain's pledge of relief funds was nearly double that of the U.S., and even that U.S. contribution ($35 million) came only after heavy criticism of Washington.
All of this conveyed the impression that Americans don't value the lives of people in poor countries as much as they value their own, or European, lives. Most of us have been guilty of shrugging our shoulders in the past over natural disasters in South Asia. How much attention did we pay in 1991, for instance, when a cyclone claimed nearly 140,000 lives in Bangladesh?
Bush's announcement Friday that the United States will contribute $350 million, 10 times the earlier amount, can go far to show that Washington will act boldly overseas in response to natural calamities, not just military threats. Sending his brother Jeb to the disaster area also symbolizes the U.S. concern. But we also urge Bush to propose a Marshall Plan-like strategy for the region that would commit billions of dollars for long-term programs like water purification and improved sanitation systems.
The president would be wise to travel to the region in coming weeks. There is no need for a grandstanding tour of devastated communities, but a respectful visit to national capitals to express our nation's condolences and to ask how the president could help would go a long way toward rehabilitating the U.S. image in the world.
If conservatives in the president's own party balk at a multibillion-dollar Marshall Plan for South Asia, Bush shouldn't hesitate to employ his favorite marketing ploy: Peg the effort to the war on terror by pointing out the strategic importance of the region. Indonesia, the most severely affected nation, also happens to be the world's largest Muslim country, where most practice a moderate form of the religion but the government battles extremists.
Offering humanitarian assistance could inoculate Indonesians against sympathy for terrorists. An all-out effort by the U.S. to help a Muslim country would also counter those across the Muslim world who preach that the West is out to undermine all Muslim societies.
Beyond Indonesia, Sri Lanka fights Tamil terrorists, Thailand worries about Muslim separatists in the south, and India works hard to maintain peace among its many religious and ethnic communities while seeking to improve ties with Pakistan. All four nations are natural allies of the U.S., democracies of the kind Bush repeatedly says he wants to see flourish.
The U.S. spends a bit over one-tenth of 1% of its national income on aid, less than any other developed nation. A massive American-led Marshall Plan for South Asia would cost only a fraction of the nearly $225 billion requested so far to pay for the Iraq war. And, without a doubt, it would be a far wiser investment in the war on terror.
L.A. Times Editorial
posted by R7 | 1/02/2005 01:05:00 PM
1 Comments:
Tsunami Trip Raises Jeb Bush's Profile
Tue Jan 4, 3:32 PM ET
By RON FOURNIER and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON - Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has emphatically ruled out a 2008 bid to replace his brother in the White House, but his profile-raising tour of tsunami-wrecked countries has rekindled talk of a third Bush presidency.
Florida political experts and Bush family friends said they take the governor at his word — "I'm not going to run for president in 2008," Bush pledged in October — but believe the 51-year-old Bush is leaving his options open for a White House bid in 2012 or beyond.
"He's never ruled it out, and he's a young man," said Charlie Black, political adviser to former President George H.W. Bush, the governor's father.
Jeb Bush's trip with Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka seems tailor-made for a White House aspirant looking to pad his resume. Traveling with a press secretary and two security guards, Bush is getting equal billing at news conferences with Powell, the pair standing side-by-side at podiums or in trio with a foreign leader.
Powell typically refers to Bush in the first sentence or two of any public remarks, saying "we" are doing this and "we" will do that. Bush seems to take his cues from Powell — they even dress alike, wearing khakis and open-necked shirts.
The governor is deferential to Powell, calling him "the secretary" and, so far, limiting his remarks to how his experience with Florida's heavy hurricane season may be relevant. He acknowledged, however, that the damage from four hurricanes last fall paled in comparison to the devastation from the tsunami's wrath.
"We had nothing compared to that. We had loss of property, disruption of daily life, loss of electricity, lack of water that lasted for days, in some cases weeks," Bush said Tuesday at a Bangkok air base. "But when you have 150,000 people died over 11 countries, that's something that goes way beyond what anybody experienced in our own country."
Bush's showed an empathetic touch during the hurricanes, increasing his popularity in Florida. Now, he has a chance to raise his national profile.
"He's dealing with foreign leaders and an international crisis, so I think it will stick in people's minds that he is a serious international player — if he wants to be," Black said.
Shortly before his brother won a second term, the governor said he would finish his second term in January 2007, "and then I'll go back to Miami and I'll figure out what I'm going to do. But it isn't going to be running for president, I promise."
When a reporter asked whether he could change his mind, Bush replied, "No! Why am I not believable on this subject? It's driving me nuts."
If so, it might make him crazy to know that some are still speculating about a presidential race in 2008. "People can change their minds," said Matt Corrigan, a University of North Florida political science professor.
Corrigan said two prominent Republicans considering 2008 campaigns, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (news - web sites), "are fairly moderate choices in a conservative party. Who's going to be the conservative alternative? Obviously, Gov. Bush is a prominent name in that category."
But other political experts said the country won't be in the mood for another President Bush (news - web sites) immediately after eight years of George W.
"I could see him running, but not in the near term," said David Niven, a political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. "I think he has to worry about Bush fatigue. He's young enough to sit out a few races and come back, just like his brother came back after there was a sense that the first Bush was all right, and the grievances had faded away."
Black, a Bush family friend, said the trick will be for the Florida governor to stay in the public spotlight.
"I think he could go to the private sector for a while, still campaign very actively for whoever the nominee is in 2008 and maybe come back someday and take a run at it," Black said.
"His name will still be Bush and, even if he's out of public office four years or so, people are going to say, 'Yes, that's the former president's brother, the guy who ran Florida so well."
___
Associated Press Writer Anne Gearan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia
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