"Storms ground relief copters in Pakistan; US military offers assistance in monsoon flooding" by Ashraf Khan, Associated Press | August 7, 2010
Pakistan navy personnel rescued stranded villagers from flooded area at Toree Band, in the Kashmir district near Sukkar in the Sindh Province. Floods triggered by monsoon rains have killed about 1,500 people; millions more have been affected. (Shakil Adil/Associated Press)
I know it is trivial and of the point; however, I am always amazed at the incredible color in the dress. The MSM here makes it look like all Muslim women are either veiled in black or ensconced in a burqa.
Related: Kashmir Unraveling
Maybe that's why the BG dropped its coverage.
Only when it is our Muslims do we want them calling for independence and self-determination.
If it is an ally killing them dead in the streets there is not even a peep of protest from this government.
SUKKUR, Pakistan — Stormy weather grounded helicopters carrying emergency supplies to Pakistan’s flood-ravaged northwest yesterday as the worst monsoon rains in decades brought more destruction to a nation already reeling from Islamist violence.
This is on such a scale above and beyond "Islamist violence" -- never you mind those drone missiles attacks from AmeriKan aircraft -- it is an insult to even mention it in the same breath.
But when you have an agenda-pushing, war-promoting PoS as a newspaper these things will happen.
US military personnel waiting to fly Chinooks to stranded communities in the upper reaches of the hard-hit Swat Valley were frustrated by the storms, which dumped more rain on a region where many thousands are living in tents or crammed into public buildings.
This is not a good situation.
In the Sukkur area of Sindh Province in southern Pakistan, 70 villages had been flooded over the last 24 hours, the navy said. Saleh Farooqi, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Sindh, said authorities had removed about 200,000 people from areas where floodwaters could hit, but many more were still living in the danger zone.
Over the last week, floods triggered by monsoon rains have spread from the northwest down Pakistan, killing about 1,500 people.
See: Pakistan Opens the Floodgates For U.S. Troops
They were faster and more destructive in the northwest, where waters were receding yesterday. The floods were moving south along the River Indus, causing less damage but inundating hundreds of villages.
Some 30,000 Pakistani soldiers are rebuilding bridges, delivering food and setting up relief camps in the northwest, which is the main battleground in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
I'm so sick of reading about "Al-CIA-Duh."
Hell, if they are up there why help?
Let 'em die, right?
It's Taliban country, right?
Foreign countries and the United Nations have donated millions of dollars.
So --like Haiti -- one wonders whose pockets that money will fill.
Earlier, Nadim Ahmed, the head of the National Disaster Management Authority, said 12 million people had so far been affected by the floods and 650,000 houses destroyed.
And it is MORE EVERY MINUTE!
About 85 US military personnel are taking part in the relief activities along with six helicopters that were flown over from Afghanistan, where some 100,000 American troops are based battling the Taliban.
Yeah, good thing we are over there fighting a self-generating, self-perpetuating war, huh?
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Raza Yousuf Gilani said it was the worst flooding in Pakistan’s 63-year history. The United Nations said the disaster was on a par with the 2005 Kashmir earthquake — which killed about 73,000 people — in terms of the numbers of people needing assistance and damage to infrastructure.
Thank Allah the death toll has not been more.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir on yesterday, a cloudburst followed by flash floods hit a Himalayan desert region in Indian-controlled Kashmir, sending rivers of mud down mountainsides and killing at least 103 people, officials said.
All helicopters currently stationed in the northwest were grounded because of poor weather, said Amal Masud, a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority.
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"Residents moved from flooded rivers
SUKKUR — Authorities removed thousands of Pakistanis living along expanding rivers yesterday as forecasters predicted that more heavy rain could deepen the flood crisis. Pakistani officials estimate that as many as 13 million people throughout the country have been affected. Floodwaters receded somewhat in the northwest, but downpours Friday and yesterday again swelled rivers and streams (AP)."
Yes, Sunday's report was only a brief.
No need to trouble Americans with the unbearable suffering of Muslims on a Sunday.
But you can trouble them with this:
"Flooding could spur Taliban resurgence; Government failing to offer basic services" by Griff Witte, Washington Post | August 9, 2010
Evacuated flood victims crowded a naval boat Sunday in Sukkur, in Pakistan’s Sindh Province. Navy boats sped across flood waters as the military took a lead role in rescuing the survivors. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)
CHARSADDA, Pakistan — The slow-motion disaster underway in Pakistan as flood waters seep into virtually every corner of the nation has devastated basic infrastructure and could open the door to a Taliban resurgence as the government falters in its efforts to provide basic services, officials here say.
The emerging landscape in areas where the water has receded is one in which bridges, roads, schools, health clinics, power facilities, and sewage systems have been ruined or seriously damaged. With swollen rivers still churning southward, the destruction is spreading by the hour.
More than 1,600 people have been killed and millions are seeking food and shelter amid the worst floods in Pakistan’s history. Landslides buried two villages in northern Pakistan over the weekend, killing 53 people. At least 127 died and 1,300 are missing in China after the Bailong River burst its banks late Saturday.
On a visit to a newly flooded area in Pakistan’s south yesterday, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said the overall impact of the flooding now tops that from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake — a view echoed by international aid officials.
Though the quake killed far more people — at least 73,000 — Gillani called the scale of physical damage “beyond imagination. . . . Our country has gone back several years.’’
Truly, there is no better time for launching WWIII with an attack on Iran. China and Pakistan are dealing with floods and the Russians with fires. Israel probed Lebanon last week to see how their forces would react.
Maybe a few more pieces to be put in place; however, I feel time is short.
Pakistan can ill afford that kind of regression as it battles a vicious insurgency that capitalizes on the government’s failure to improve the standard of living of its people.
Over the past year, the Pakistan Army has succeeded in driving Taliban fighters out of key sanctuaries in South Waziristan and the Swat Valley. But the damage from the floods could jeopardize those gains, officials acknowledge, unless infrastructure is quickly rebuilt — an undertaking that will cost billions of dollars and will probably take years.
Swat, one of the worst affected areas, is a prime example. While the valley was once known for its moderate public attitudes and picture-perfect mountain views, militants were able to take over in recent years by capitalizing on residents’ hostility toward a government that often seemed distant and indifferent.
I know how you feel -- to a certain degree.
Last summer, the army took the valley back with a major offensive, and it launched a series of public works projects intended to repair the damage. The efforts were starting to pay off: Just last month, residents celebrated traditional agricultural festivals without fear of violence, and tourists packed newly reopened hotels.
But then on July 28, the floods hit. Army officials say that every major bridge in the valley was destroyed, and aerial photographs of the region show that rivers have been diverted — perhaps permanently — down the center of once thriving bazaars.
“It will take us months just to get the electricity back in Swat. For now, people are living in darkness,’’ said Rahim Dad Khan, the planning minister for northwestern Pakistan.
So are most Americans, but in a different sort of darkness.
Khan said all plans for development in the northwest have been canceled, and the money diverted to reconstruction. “We thought we would build roads, hospitals, and schools. But now, everything we were planning is ruined,’’ he said.
Army officials say that they are aware that the Taliban could try to seize the opportunity, but that they will not let that happen....
By the account of the victims, the government has failed....
The US military has sent six helicopters, 91 troops, and hundreds of thousands of meals from neighboring Afghanistan to help with relief efforts in Swat.
That sure was nice of them after the drone missile strikes, 'eh?
But since Thursday, when the crews flew in supplies and evacuated hundreds of stranded residents, storms and overcast skies have kept the helicopters grounded....
Islamic charities, including ones that are known fronts for banned militant groups, have begun distributing assistance in some areas, as have Western nongovernmental organizations.
One day I would like to see a full-feature article in my newspaper on such efforts.
Of course, that might humanize the "terrorists" and ruin all the fun.
But for the most part, residents say they are receiving no aid at all.
In the median strip of the recently completed highway that links the northwest with the rest of Pakistan, thousands of displaced villagers have set up tents.
“All the local roads are destroyed. All the schools are destroyed. We never had any medical facilities,’’ said Obaid ur-Rehman, 26, who was forced to relocate to the median strip.
“This is the basic reason for militancy: anger at the government,’’ Rehman said. “If we had a place to live, if we had food, if we had schools, there would be no militancy in Pakistan.’’Yeah, WHO would ever be MILITANT if their GOVERNMENT TOOK CARE of them?
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And don't let go of that line:
A man crossed a swollen canal yesterday after a bridge was washed away in Ghazi Gat, in central Pakistan. Flooding in the nation over the past two weeks has claimed 1,500 lives. (K.M. Chaudary/Associated Press)
"13.8m affected by Pakistan floods; Misery exceeds tsunami and quakes, UN says" by Sebastian Abbot, Associated Press | August 10, 2010
ISLAMABAD — The number of people suffering from the massive floods in Pakistan exceeds 13 million — more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the United Nations said yesterday....
Another historic disaster topping the others.
The comparison helps frame the scale of the crisis, which the prime minister said yesterday was the worst in Pakistan’s history. It has overwhelmed the government, generating widespread anger from flood victims who have complained that aid is not reaching them quickly enough or at all.
Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the number of people affected in the three other disasters was about 11 million, he said — 5 million in the tsunami and 3 million in each of the earthquakes....
Pakistani rescue workers have been unable to reach up to 600,000 people marooned in Swat Valley in the northwest, said Giuliano. Bad weather has prevented helicopters from flying to the area, which is inaccessible by ground, he said.
Hundreds of thousands of people have also had to flee rising flood waters in recent days in the central and southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh because heavy rains have continued to pound parts of the country.
And they already had refugee problems because of the war.
President Obama’s national security adviser, James Jones, said the United States is sending a wide range of assistance to Pakistan. That includes $35 million in financial aid, added onto the $7.5 million already designated, as well as food, shelter, medical supplies, and other items.
In addition, the United States has delivered 436,000 meals, 12 prefabricated bridges, 14 rescue boats, six water filtration units, and a generator. US helicopters are supporting rescue efforts and will continue to evacuate stranded citizens and transport supplies....
I want the Pakistanis to get every ounce of help we can give them; however, do you not wish your government had responded in such a way for you, America?
And maybe we could stop making war on them. That might help.
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