Shock And Yawn

[Seth Ackerman]

"Dennis Perrin" <dperrin at comcast.net> wrote:

> > 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.