Public Diplomacy and the Tsunami-Part II

CPD Media Monitor Report by Molly Claflin and Millicent Jefferson

A two-part summary of press reports on public diplomacy issues and the December 2004 Tsunami Crisis.  A supplement to John Brown’s Public Diplomacy Press Review.

Less than one month after the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, nations around the world continued to show their generosity by supporting the victims affected by the disaster.  The outpour of aid was remarkable.  East Timor, which had been invaded and occupied by Indonesia in the 1970s, was now reaching out to its former adversary.  Beslan, a Russian town that suffered a terrorist siege in September 2004, offered some of its own relief funds to assist countries decimated by the tsunami.  The world press labeled this international outflow of sympathy and assistance as “tsunami diplomacy.” 

In spite of the apparent success of the global effort to rebuild Southeast Asia, concerns about long-term support remain in question.  Journalists and scholars discussing the difference between pledged contributions and the actual amount of aid given are worried that many of the countries will not follow through with their aid commitments. Skeptics argue that it is one thing to say a country is going to give millions of dollars in aid, but how much the country ends up giving is another story entirely. This issue is fueling debate over whether the surge of international generosity is a genuine effort to help Southeast Asia recover or if it is simply another opportunity for propaganda – a superficial attempt to project an image of goodwill. 

Furthermore, ongoing dialogue about the enmity between Muslims and the West remains a recurrent topic in the press.  After the Indonesian government expressed its desire to see all American and foreign troops administering disaster relief evacuate the area by March 31st, 2005, talks of Muslim “hatred” towards America and its allies dominated the news in Europe, Asia, and the United States.  Islamic extremists were quoted as saying that the tsunami was a punishment from Allah to all the “heretic” countries that supported the U.S. and its invasion of Iraq.  However, the opposition brings to light the fact that the area that suffered the worst damage was Aceh, the most Islamist province in Indonesia.  Altercations such as this certainly have wide-reaching effects; the U.S. and its allies continue to have an unfavorable image within the Muslim world, while Islamic hypocrisy moves to damage its own reputation in the international community. 

Click here to read “Public Diplomacy and the Tsunami-Part I.”

Tsunami Aid Ingrates
(Mona Charen, Washington Times, January 17, 2005)
The Indonesian government’s hatred for the United States overpowers even the most dire needs of its suffering people. Certainly the Indonesian government does not speak for everyone in the country. Many Indonesians have expressed their thanks to the United States and the rest of the world for tsunami relief. But neither is it deniable that Islamic extremists have poisoned many minds in the Muslim world.

Bush Says Military Tsunami Aid Helps Foreign Image
(Reuters, New York Times, January 13, 2005)
President Bush said in an interview to be aired on Friday that America’s enemies are winning the public relations battle in the Muslim world but U.S. tsunami relief efforts will improve Washington’s tarnished image. “Our public diplomacy efforts aren’t ... aren’t very robust and aren’t very good compared to the public diplomacy efforts of those who would like to spread hatred and ... vilify the United States,’’ Bush said in excerpts of the interview with ABC News released on Thursday. “But in ... responding to the tsunami, many in the Muslim world have seen a great compassion in the American people.” “There’s a lot of talk about how some in the world don’t appreciate America,” he told reporters after a Pentagon briefing on Thursday. “Well, I can assure you that those who have been helped by our military appreciate America,” he said.
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God Does Not Cause Tsunamis: How Do You Process Such an Epic Tragedy? Where Do You Lay Blame? Can You Even Try?
(Mark Morford, SF Gate, January 12, 2005)
Bogus presidents and unwinnable wars and humiliating foreign policy, rabid homophobia and misogyny and pseudo-Christian absolutist agendas that seek to maul the kaleidoscopic nature of the national spirit, these are issues and events we can access, get our minds around, things the media can report on and people can discuss with something resembling articulation and alacrity. And yet here we are, the most massive and horrific disaster in decades, and ... nothing. (Note to Dubya: When the spoon-fed multimillionaire WASP president of the United States won’t even match the donations of the star of “Miss Congeniality 2,” better to not donate anything at all, OK, George? Now go back to your nap.)

A Battle For The Allegiance of the Living
(Bill Gueren, Asia Times, January 14, 2005)
Despite US aid efforts meant to capture the hearts and minds of Muslims, foreign military forces have been told to leave staunchly Islamic, tsunami-battered Aceh by the end of March. With only three months in which to ride its sudden wave of popularity, the US must now struggle with Jakarta, radicals and separatist rebels to sway the allegiance of the living.

US Fulbright Scholars in Sri Lanka Help with Asian Tsunami Relief
(All American Patriots (Press Release) Sweden, January 12, 2005)
American Fulbright scholars studying in Sri Lanka have stepped out of the classroom to join in the relief effort in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami. Using their skills to address specific relief needs, these scholars have in some cases become more than just volunteers.

“To Challenge God is Not Blasphemous But the Ultimate Act of Devotion.”
(Shmuley Boteach, “Don’t Call Tsunami Divine PUnishment,” Jerusalem Post, January 12, 2005)
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Saudies and Tsunamis: Not Everyone Worked Together to Help the Earthquake Victims
(Paul Marshall, Weekly Standard)
The tsunami tragedy shows once more that Islamist extremism does not seek freedom, democracy, or the alleviation of poverty. Its explicit goal is to advance enmity between Wahhabis and all others, and to create reactionary regimes ruled by a perversion of Islamic law.

South Asia Trip Takes on Dual Significance
(J. Jioni Palmer, Newsday, January 10, 2005)
Tsunami relief “might be a very strong argument for the expanding the military, not for hard power, but for soft power,” Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), said. “Not for blowing things up but to put things together.”

U.S. Isn’t Stingy, It’s Strategic
(Tom Barry, Asia Times, January 11, 2005)
At first glance, a country’s generosity in foreign aid seems a good measure of whether the US or any other nation is a good global neighbor. Certainly the high percentage contributions of the Nordic and other Western European countries make them immune to charges that they are stingy. Moreover, these same leading aid donors don’t tie their aid to their own products and technical assistance. But foreign aid is not always an unqualified good, especially when it comes from a country whose aid strategy is so closely tied to its global war strategy and to its neo-liberal economic policies.

The Year of Living Diplomatically
(Greg Sheridan, Wall Street Journal, January 10,  2005)
The defining moment came early in the tsunami crisis, when a weeping man in Aceh, Indonesia’s isolated and most militantly Muslim province on the northern tip of Sumatra, sobbed to a CNN interviewer: “Where is America?” Ordinary people often understand underlying patterns of power better than most intellectuals. The man understood that when there is real trouble, you look to America, and its allies and friends, especially such fellow democracies as Japan and Australia.
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The Not So Ugly Americans
(Bill Guerin, Asia Times, January 11, 2005)
The characterization of the Ugly American, from the 1958 international best-selling novel of the same name, which has stuck to Americans ever since the book’s release, may be put to rest in Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated Aceh province, from where Islam spread across the archipelago. More than 16,000 kilometers from Washington, US military crews are flying more than 100 helicopter sorties a day, ferrying food, water and medicine to mostly Muslim victims in the province from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Winning Friends with Disaster Aid (3 Letters) - Letters to the Editor
(Washington Post, January 10, 2005)

About Greatness, Tsunami Tragedy and America
(Dr. Khaled Batarfi, kbatarfi@al-madina.com, Dhul Qa ‘Dah, January 9, 2005)
It seems that greatness is measured by deeds and not language.  Dr. Khaled Batarfi felt that when America and its Western allies stood up to Saddam Hussein in 1991, the world had finally found its leadership. USA and company were the Great Ones who would rewrite the world order, as they tried after World War I, and succeeded after World War II.  Bill Clinton convinced him that not only was America great, it meant well for the rest of us.  George W. Bush, 9/11and the “murderous responses in Afghanistan and Iraq” left him unsure.  Dr. Batarfi felt the US and Bush’s initial performance with respect to the tsunami was further proof, as if more proofs were needed, that America is not fit to lead the world.

Zeroes to Heroes
(The Scotsman, UK, January 9, 2005)
A week after critics accused Washington of not doing enough to help the victims and survivors of the tsunami, the Navy and the Marine Corps swiftly led an aid effort like no other. This “soft power” stood in marked contrast to the “hard power” Muslims in the region more often associate with the United States. With respect to the comments made by the United Nations, President Bush said Egeland was “misguided and ill-informed”, while Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States had “nothing to be embarrassed about” in its response.  By the end of the week the reasons for Powell’s confidence had become clear. Pictures of the US Navy delivering aid to those who need it most flashed across television screens around the world. If the administration was seen as slow responding in Washington, in the Indian Ocean it was proving vital.

Liberals ‘Love’ America
(Ann Coulter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 9, 2005)
Columnist Ann Coulter examines partisan criticism of the U.S. aid efforts to the tsunami region.  She examines patriotism along party lines and recounts a brief history of foreign aid in times of disaster. 

Wielding Charity in Tsunami Land
(Kathleen Parker, January 9, 2005)
Competitive caring has taken off around the globe as nations vie to display and measure their greater virtue.  The need to calculate and compare is seen as an affliction in individuals. Among nations, it is considered bad form. Measuring charity as a political gauge robs the result of its noble intent and the giver of his just reward—the gift of giving. The author feels that there are worse things to get in a heat about. Who gives more? Who cares more? Who among men, which among nations, is most charitable? Dollar by dollar, Americans are having to match their worldly weight in gold.

Generous Nation, Caring World
(January 09, 2005)
A wave of worldwide compassion has become a flood of relief commitments for the tsunami-stricken nations of Asia and East Africa. However, tsunami relief is moving to a different stage. The shock is over, and worry is setting in. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said “we have often had gaps in the past” between promises and actual donations. One such situation was Iran’s devastating earthquake in 2003. About $1 billion in aid was pledged; less than a tenth of it ever was paid. In addition to delivering on pledges the world will need to respond to ongoing needs in reconstruction and public health, especially if there is an outbreak of disease. This is a situation that will extend over many months, long after the network anchors have left the shores of Sumatra and after the photos have disappeared from the front pages of newspapers.

We’re Not Stingy, We’re Just Picky
(Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, January 9, 2005)
This piece examines how diplomatic it was for the United Nations official to use a word like “stingy” to describe the humanitarian aid donations of industrialized nations like the United States.  “But, like a two-by-four to the temples, it did get our attention.”  In response to Egeland, the author said he would submit that America is not stingy; we’re just picky.  “We tend to pick and choose which of the world’s horrendous disasters to care the most about and act upon.  And it helps to have TV coverage.” The tsunami received maximum visibility that seemed to grow by the day as more amazing and disturbing video surfaced from countless hand-held personal cameras.

Waves of Change
(David Hale, New York Times, January 7, 2005)
What is unclear is whether Asians will regard the American aid in the tsunami disaster as a truly transforming event or as a temporary burst of generosity from an aggressive superpower. Much may depend upon the follow-through.

Who’s Stingy Now? The United Nations Fritters Away Money While the American Military Steps in to Help the Hopeless in Southeast Asia
(Hugh Hewitt, Weekly Standard)
If you’re getting over being steamed at Norwegian U.N. apparatchik Jan Egeland, who a week ago thought the U.S. response to the tsunami “stingy,” then you need to check in at The Diplomad, LINK a tremendous blog run by a State Department careerist serving abroad and which has done more for the reputation of State among conservatives in the past few months than 20 years of Council of Foreign Relations meets and greets. Short summary: Your worst fears about the United Nations are true.

Powell Still Loyal Soldier on his Final Assignment
(Jules Witcover, Baltimore Sun, January 7, 2005)
In touring the disaster area with the president’s kid brother tagging along for maximum public relations, Mr. Powell provided cover for the widely noticed presidential sleepwalking through the catastrophe’s first days, and the initial niggardly U.S. government reaction to it. Mr. Powell, as in the president’s mismanagement of the war in Iraq, has again put his prestige on the line like the good soldier he is. He seems unaware that his once-glowing reputation as his own man is evaporating in his unquestioning willingness to do the emperor’s bidding.

In the Loop
(Al Kamen, Washington Post, January 7, 2005)
Presidential brother Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, went to Asia with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and got impressive television coverage before coming back early for his parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. The footage in Banda Aceh, we’re told, has the compassionate Jeb patting the shoulders or heads of Indonesians. He probably did not read the briefing paper by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta: “HEADS ARE SENSITIVE AND BACKS ARE PRIVATE: Don’t touch or pat the heads of others. The hearty American clap on the back and a too readily seized shoulder are not particularly appreciated.”

Power Play in Tsunami’s Wake
(Siddharth Srivastava, Asia Times, January 2005)
In the cauldron are the two Asian giants of China and India, the latter having refused international aid as it is a donor nation as well as a victim, a move seen by many Western commentators as churlish. India wants the United States to retain its pre-eminence in the region to preempt China, while China is apprehensive of Japan rearming itself should the US withdraw its troops from the region.

The “Tsunami” Victims that We Don’t Count
(Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe, January 7, 2005)
In the abstract, the outpouring regarding the tsunami victims was appropriate. In context, the sympathy was a stench unto itself. Tens of thousands of people die by an act of nature and we say we cannot imagine the horror. We say it defies comprehension. We call it a catastrophe. In Iraq we kill off thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of innocent civilians with our own hands, and we reject any attempt to comprehend what we have done. Countless Iraqi civilians are homeless. We call it liberation.

“The Great Satan” on Devastated Muslim Streets: A Largely Unreported Story of Goodwill
(Deroy Murdock, National Review, January 6, 2005)
Once again, “the Great Satan” America rescues endangered Muslims while Islamic zealots blew their co-religionists to bits. As the south Asian recovery unfolds, American public diplomacy should highlight this comparison to Muslims worldwide. American press officers at embassies in Muslim nations should communicate the ongoing story of American help to tsunami victims via the Voice of America, local media outlets, public appearances, conversations with pedestrians on the Arab Street, and even advertising, where available. Supply boxes and food sacks should be emblazoned with American flags. GIs who distribute that assistance should wear Old Glory on their uniforms. Private-sector American volunteers should be offered T-shirts that identify them as U.S. ambassadors of goodwill.

U.S. Hopes to Win Muslims’ Hearts; But Aid Effort Not Likely to Alter Political Views in Islamic States
(Anna Badkhen, San Francisco Chronicle, January 6, 2005)
The Bush administration is turning its massive aid effort into a crucial weapon in a battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims in southern Asia and in much of the rest of the Muslim world, nudging their sentiments in America’s favor. Still, the effort is unlikely to be enough to turn around negative Muslim feelings toward the United States in much of the rest of the world. Providing humanitarian aid to the Indian Ocean nations does not address the main point of contention many Muslims have with the United States: Washington’s seemingly one-sided support of Israel and the U.S.-led war in Iraq, said James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute in Washington.

Conspicuous Compassion
(Richard Cohen, Washington Post, January 6, 2005)
From the president on down, it has become the stated purpose of the aid not only to help the victims of the tsunami but to establish our credentials as a supremely good guy. “We’re showing the compassion of our nation in the swift response,” Bush said at the White House the other day. Our money—a generous $350 million in government funds—will not suddenly make us the darlings of the Muslim world. As the late Susan Sontag bravely pointed out right after Sept. 11, 2001, those terrorist attacks were in response to American policy in the Middle East—not, as Bush has said repeatedly since, because Islamic radicals cannot abide freedom.

Voltaire’s Smile
(Tony Blankley, Washington Times, January 5, 2005)
The charge of stinginess (compounded by a story in The Washington Post that President Bush had been negligent in not rushing to a television camera to emote for the world on the loss) drove the president and his staff to acts of extreme contrition not seen since Henry II of England submitted himself barefoot and shirtless to the lashes of the monks of Canterbury Cathedral for ordering the murder of Thomas a Becket. The president should get off this deranged merry-go-round. Money will not buy him—or us love. He and America should give according to the voice of our conscience—not in order to try to win a compassion competition.

The “Taker Hates a Giver”
(Suzanne Fields, Washington Times, January 6, 2005)
It’s important for Americans to keep in mind that we help others not for their gratitude but because it’s the right thing to do. If Americans are stingy, let’s hear a little applause for stinginess. When disaster strikes, the world best be wary of getting run over by American shopping carts, racing to the rescue.

The Blame Game
(Helle Dale, Washington Times, January 5, 2005)
Mr. Bush is president of the United States, not God. Mr. Bush was neither responsible for the tsunami disaster, nor did even he have the power to assuage a catastrophe half a world away without warning or information. It is deeply ironic that the same people who like to complain the loudest about American global dominance do not hesitate to call on the United States to deploy its vast military powers when the human need is there. When the world is faced with a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude, you would think we could rise above partisan politics and bickering, just for a little while.

Forget Iraq and South Asia, It’s Party Time
(Margaret Carlson, Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2005)
So why did Bush finally spring into action on the tsunami? It was his slow realization that he looked out of step with ordinary Americans, treating his base as less than they are, simply as a voting bloc. While millions of good-hearted Americans were jamming the websites of Catholic Charities, the American Red Cross and other groups with donations, Bush was still on vacation, clearing brush at the ranch. It took more than a week for him to make a personal donation.

An Unchanged Landscape in Washington
(Sidney Blumenthal, Salon, January 6, 2005)
According to State Department sources, in his meetings with foreign leaders Bush is often at a loss when he finishes his agenda on terrorism and sometimes trade. In this tsunami crisis, his advisors acted in character: Vice President Cheney was duck hunting on the South Carolina plantation of a major Republican donor; National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice suggested nothing to disturb her boss; and Secretary of State Colin Powell once again lent his reputation, defending Bush as “not stingy.”

Players: Andrew S. Natsios—U.S.Aid Director Keeps an Eye on Long-Term Recovery
(Robin Wright, Washington Post, January 6, 2005)
Although South Asia’s tsunami has brought U.S. aid into the spotlight, it has generally been a less visible instrument of U.S. foreign policy change in recent years, with the primary foreign policy focus on military campaigns.

Asian Press is Wary of Motives Behind Tsunami Aid: Coverage of the Tsunami Has Already Been Pushed Off the Front Pages of Some of Asia’s Regional Press Despite a Death Toll Pushing 150,000
(Telegraph.co.uk, UK)

Trying to Imagine: Across Europe, People Stop in Their Tracks for Three Minutes to Express Their Solidarity with the People of the Indian Ocean
(Jonathan Freedland, Salon, January 6, 2005)

Aftermath: Pledges Grow, Hurdles Loom in Relief Effort
(Scott Shane, New York Times, January 5, 2005)
With television broadcasts showing American servicemen delivering aid to victims of the last week’s tsunami, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell candidly acknowledged the hope that the United States’ military help and its $350 million contribution might improve America’s image in the Islamic world. Indonesia, home of two-thirds of the estimated 150,000 people who have died, is the world’s most populous Muslim country. Since the 9/11 attacks, the State Department has begun a number of public diplomacy campaigns aimed at improving the image of America and emphasizing that it is not hostile to Islam. But with the war in Iraq filling television screens worldwide with images of American soldiers battling in a Muslim land, those messages have often been muted.

Christian Coalition Says Tsunami Aid is Good PR for U.S.
(Ekklesia, UK)
The Christian Coalition in the U.S. has said that American aid and humanitarian help to the region devastated by the tsunami will help Muslim nations see the United States in a better light. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the State Department has begun a number of public diplomacy campaigns aimed at improving America’s image and emphasizing that it is not hostile to Islam. But with the war in Iraq filling televisions worldwide with images of American soldiers battling in a largely Muslim land, those messages have frequently been muted.

Australia Becomes Largest Donor for Tsunami Relief with $764 Million Pledge
(Michael Casey, Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2005)
Australia committed $764 million Wednesday to help Indonesia recover from the tsunami disaster, becoming the largest relief donor hours after Germany increased its aid to $674 million as the second-biggest contributor. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who flew over Sumatra’s devastated coast Wednesday, has not announced any increase in the U.S. commitment of $350 million, a number he has called sufficient for now.

News Analysis: How Much to Give? No Right Answer
(Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief, San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2005)
For now, the U.S. government has pledged to send $350 million—about $1.19 from each American—to the region, and to dedicate tens of millions of dollars in other technical and military assistance. It is an amount that is at once generous and stingy, a figure driven by compassion, strategic calculations and budget priorities. Many conservatives, including those who strongly support the aid package, believe the propaganda value of such charity is often overblown. Nevertheless, foreign aid—which includes billions of dollars that the United States spends each year on development assistance—is widely regarded as a strategic tool.

Land of Penny Pinchers
(Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, January 5, 2005)
With America’s image tarnished around the world, one of the most effective steps Mr. Bush could take to revive it would be to lead a global effort to confront an ongoing challenge like malaria. That would also give Mr. Bush more credibility by suggesting that the “culture of life” he talks about embraces not just fetuses, but also African children crying from hunger. The best response to accusations of stinginess is not to be defensive, but to be generous. And the measure of generosity is not what you offer when the spotlight is upon you, but what you do when the spotlight moves on.

“The Good Heart of the American People”
(Robert Kuttner, Boston Globe, January 5, 2005)
The good heart of the American people can be expressed both by personal charitable giving and by national policy. Bush’s version of America’s good heart is pass-the-buck and the responsibility. If Bush were serious about expressing the good-heartedness of Americans, he would organize a large standby government relief program, working with private charities and international agencies.

Aid Effort in Indonesia Could Lift U.S. Image in Eyes of Muslims
(Neil King Jr. and Donald Greenless, Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2005)
U.S. foreign assistance has only a mixed record in winning friends for Washington. Nor is it a sure thing that a surge in pro-American sentiments will stick once the tsunami relief work is done, any more than pro-American sympathies lasted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Suspicion of the U.S. remains high among some Indonesian Muslim leaders. And progress in Indonesia might be difficult to translate into improved perceptions among Muslims in the broader Arab world. Arab newspapers have devoted little space to the disaster overall, and even less to the Western-led aid efforts.
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The Tsunami Test: A Tragedy Always Tests One’s Mettle and the Catastrophic Tsunami is India’s Trial by Fire. India is Both Victim and Saviour, but by Responding Quickly to Neighbours in Need, It Has Emerged as a Much-Needed Regional Anchor
(Seema Sirohi, Outlookindia.com, UK)
Apart from the obvious good neighbourliness of the gesture, India is shedding its old diffident skin. Projecting into the future, it is showing it has both the mettle and the muscle to do some heavy lifting. It is soft power supported by hard resources. Helping in times of need can win friends and influence countries. Sure, there are geo-political calculations but why shouldn’t there be?

Unprecedented Response: In Country After Country, People are Reaching Deep into Their Pockets and are Pressing Their Governments to Do Even More
(Richard Gwyn, Toronto Star, January 5, 2005)
What is unprecedented about the tsunami has been the response to it. The blanket media coverage has brought the pain of others into our living rooms. In country after country, people are both reaching deep into their own pockets and are pressing hard on their governments to do more. This has been the good and the bad of the tsunami, and it is useful to know that both exist in Canada no differently from anywhere else, for all our talk about “soft power” and about being a “model world citizen.”

World Press Views “Tsunami Diplomacy”
(BBC NEWS)
Many are positive about the way that the international community has rallied, and hopes are expressed for Thursday’s aid summit in Jakarta. But political motives are seen behind US actions, and there are suggestions that some in the region and the Muslim world have been slow to pull their weight.

How the U.S. Media Sees Tsunami Relief
(Mohammed A. R. Galadari, Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates, January 5, 2005)
The worst the American media fears is that the media in the Arab and Muslim nations will not provide the readers news about what the Americans are doing for Arab and Muslim countries. This is their major concern. They feel reforms should, therefore, be in “all the areas, so that the people will change their ways of thinking. What is important is that, if only to help these countries recover lost ground, their media should provide real facts and truths to the readers; and stop acting like propaganda machine.”

World Press Views “Tsunami Diplomacy”
(Boston Globe, January 5, 2005)
“THE GREATEST SOURCE OF AMERICA’S GENEROSITY IS NOT OUR GOVERNMENT. IT’S THE GOOD HEART OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.”
—President George W. Bush; cited in Robert Kuttner, “The Good Heart of the American People”

Quentin Peel: Help Should Have a Light Touch
(Quentin Peel, January 5, 2005)
The vast amounts of private donations from around the world for tsunami disaster relief have been surprising, heart-warming, and extraordinary. Never before have so many people from such a variety of countries responded so generously.

Aid Effort in Indonesia Could Lift U.S. Image in Eyes of Muslims
(Neil King Jr. in Washington and Donald Greenlees in Medan Indonesia, The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2005)
The U.S. tsunami relief effort could be a way for America to clean up its tarnished image in the eyes of the Muslim world and the international community. This could be a chance for the nation to repair the damage done in Iraq. But like the international pro-American sentiments after the 9/11 attacks, there’s no guarantee an improved image of the U.S. will remain after the disaster relief is gone.

Bush Donates $10,000 to Tsunami Relief Efforts
(Reuters, January 5)
After calling on Americans to support the tsunami victims, President Bush himself made a $10,000 donation, according to the White House. Bush’s wealth is estimated at $13 million, and had asked “every American to contribute as they are able to do so.”