Muslims wary about U.S.'s Tsunami aid intentions

1/6/2005 3:00:00 PM GMT

Source AP

The U.S.'s image has taken a severe public battery and it appears pledging $350 million, up from the initial $35 million ear marked for the Tsunami aid, might go some way to improving it.

There are some people still suspicious of America's intentions though. A noted columnist in Jordan wrote in one of the country's daily papers that the U.S. was taking advantage of "the suffering of people" to try and improve its image. While in Egypt another writer stated the initial allocation of $15 million is far "less than what America spends every minute in its war in Iraq."

But it's not all negative responses by Muslims. Hassan al-Aali of Bahrain's National Committee for the Support of Iraqi People gives the U.S. credit for improving its aid donations. "I give them credit for helping the tsunami victims. I believe their help is genuinely for humanitarian reasons," al-Aali said, adding that the U.S. has no vested interest in the disaster-struck areas because "there is no oil there."

Political analysts however, believe the aid pledged by the United States will only "take hold in the minds of Muslims and Arabs only if it was part of a wider move by Washington to insert some balance in its policies that concern the region."

But the tsunami disaster has also sparked some intense internal scrutiny with many Arab commentators calling on their governments to do more in terms of helping the victims.

Saudi Arabia's official aid was tripled to reach $30 million and a telethon is also scheduled so Saudi citizens can donate. Other Gulf states have also stepped up their donations as the scope of the disaster becomes clearer.

But America's 'good deeds' has been soured by admissions from officials that the donated aid can be used to benefit their global image. Outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell stated said the outpouring of American aid and humanitarian help could help Muslims see the United States in a better light.

Meanwhile, officials in Washington are waking up to the fact that just maybe the U.S. may have stumbled upon potent new weapons in the "war against terrorism": food, water, clothing, medicine and the millions of dollars pouring from Americans' wallets.

Though there are some who refuse to speak about the donated aid as a tool in terms of benefiting American strategic interests, nevertheless it is something that can alter public opinion. William Cohen, the former Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton believes that "In a time of crisis, a helping hand can be just as powerful as a fist of iron." While Senator Sam Brownback concedes that the U.S. shouldn't measure this by thinking "'OK, the Muslim countries are going to like us now,' " he does believe however that "It's an important foreign policy moment.

Undoubtedly, American aid to the tsunami ravaged regions is significant, only Japan, Germany and Australia have donated more.

James Zogby, head of the Arab American Institute, says that U.S. aid is a more powerful weapon than bombs. But contends that the biggest factors spawning "anger and disappointment with America" in the Arab world are the war in Iraq and U.S. indifference to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli rule.

"The more we do for these (tsunami) victims, the more it stands in contrast to our failure to rescue the people of Gaza and the West Bank from a crushing poverty."