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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mighty_Mezz who wrote (2591)	1/20/2003 7:26:23 PM
From: Fangorn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Mighty Mezz, Even wrapped in "Scheer" slime it is still food and medical aid and it was still eaten or used to treat the ill and injured. And if I remember correctly the "aid in exchange for drug war support" charge was swiftly debunked. I could be wrong about that but Scheer does have a nasty habit of getting debunked. ggg Too lazy to look up Powell's speech announcing the aid. Why don't you? And then you can tell us what Powell said the aid was for. And less than a year after this column wasn't Scheer arguing against following that aid with the Liberation that crushing the Taliban brought to the average Afghani? Did he ever use the word "quagmire"? ggg

To: Mighty_Mezz who wrote (2591)	1/21/2003 9:17:22 AM
From: Alastair McIntosh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

It was on top of the food and medical aid they'd already provided. You are mistaken. You can provide no credible link demonstrating that the U.S. provided any aid to the Taliban. The May 22 column by Robert Scheer is an outrageous piece of propaganda and lies. From Sheer's article: That's the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid.. The announcement on May 17 by Colin Powell specifically stated that the $43 million aid package(65,000 tons of wheat, $5 million in complementary food commodities, and $10 million in other livelihood and food security programs) was provided through the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations to the people of Afghanistan. Humanitarian Assistance to Afghans Secretary Colin L. Powell Statement at Press Briefing on New U.S. Humanitarian Assistance for Afghans Washington, DC May 17, 2001 SECRETARY POWELL: Good morning, everyone. Afghanistan is in crisis. After more than 20 years of war, and now the third year of a devastating draught, the country is on the verge of a widespread famine. Nearly 4 million Afghans are at risk. If the international community does not take immediate action, countless deaths and terrible tragedy are certain to follow. At the direction of President Bush, I am today announcing a package of $43 million in new humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan, including 65,000 tons of wheat, $5 million in complementary food commodities, and $10 million in other livelihood and food security programs within Afghanistan. We also expect to soon announce additional assistance to Afghan refugees. Even before this latest commitment, the United States was by far the largest provider of humanitarian assistance for Afghans. Last year, we provided about $114 million in aid. With this new package, our humanitarian assistance to date this year will reach $124 million. This includes over 200,000 tons of wheat. We will continue to look for ways to provide more assistance for Afghans, including those farmers who have felt the impact of the ban on poppy cultivation, a decision by the Taliban that we welcome. We distribute our assistance in Afghanistan through international agencies of the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. We provide our aid to the people of Afghanistan, not to Afghanistan's warring factions. Our aid bypasses the Taliban, who have done little to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people, and indeed have done much to exacerbate it. We hope the Taliban will act on a number of fundamental issues that separate us: their support for terrorism; their violation of internationally recognized human rights standards, especially their treatment of women and girls; and their refusal to resolve Afghanistan's civil war through a negotiated settlement. state.gov