Stingy No More; U.S. Antes Up $350 Million for Tsunami Relief

Posted on December 31, 2004

The U.S. has finally answered calls for helping following the devastating tsunami. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. has upped its offer of aid to victims of the Tsunami to $350 million, after a humiliating series of criticisms from both international and U.S. political figures. After first ignoring the disaster entirely while clearing brush on his Crawford ranch, President Bush finally issued a diplomatic statement of sympathy for those affected by the tragedy. Bush reportedly was infuriated by U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland's characterization of foreign assistance from western countries as "stingy."

A visibly distraught Mr. Egeland appeared on Larry King Live the other night to clarify his remarks. He said that he never named a specific country and that he was referring to foreign aid, in general, not specifically to the tsunami relief effort. He said that he was not trying to offend anyone, but he had seen too many starving children in his job. The U.S. had a great opportunity to help turn around the bad opinion held of us by much of the world because of our handling of the Iraq War. A speedy response to the tragedy by the president of the United States would have both helped the victims and helped us bolster our image abroad. Instead, the world got a slow and grudging response to the tragedy. And when the New York Times pointed out that we'll spend over $30 million on the presidential inaugeration festivities (twice the paltry $15 million we originally offered in relief aid)-- well, it just looks bad. Another missed opportunity.