> > Didn't the war cause a net loss in aid delivery? This post could mean a
> > number of things, could you maybe link to an article or to a statement
by
> > oxfam that makes your point clearer?
>
> <http://www.oxfam.ca/news/Afghanistan/January14_update.htm>
Dennis, I think you're badly misinterpreting this. I did an hour-long interview with the president of Oxfam America on Afghanistan early last year and he explained Oxfam's position in detail. When it says "famine likely averted," it's not referring to a famine that was going to happen pre-Sept. 11, but was averted by the war. The fear of imminent famine only arose with the U.S. bombing, which stopped food shipments from Sept. 12 to mid-November. That interruption was what made famine a possibility. It was then averted by the quicker-than expected end of the war, which allowed massive food deliveries to the main hubs within Afghanistan (Kandahar, Herat, Mazar, Kabul), though not so much to the countryside.
As for Chomsky, his warning of millions of deaths was just quoting from major aid agencies -- like Oxfam. I found this on the same website you linked to....
---
Oxfam Responds to Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
September 28, 2001
Oxfam Canada today urged the Canadian government to help meet the needs of six million or more Afghan people facing a foodless winter that will claim many lives.
"War has combined with a three-year drought to wreak havoc," said Rieky Stuart, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada. "Aid agencies can't tackle this alone. Unless governments respond to the United Nations' appeal, just keeping people alive will be beyond us." The UN has asked for US$500 million. Oxfam called on the international community to provide sufficient food to both government and opposition-held areas before the onset of winter. Oxfam urged the Taliban to allow aid agencies to deliver humanitarian supplies to civilians safely, including being allowed proper communications to verify that food reaches the most needy.
Oxfam's staff in Afghanistan report that food aid can be trucked in. Commercial traffic is circulating from the Pakistani border to major towns, and Oxfam will renew distribution as soon as supplies are replenished. The UN's World Food Programme suspended food aid shipments on September 12.