Reports of continuing misery caused by the flooding tragedy continue to come out of Pakistan. The flooding has affected one fifth of that nation, killed 1,600 and is affecting as many as 20 million people. According to a BBC report, “Tens of thousands of villages remain underwater and there are warnings the crisis may worsen as flood waters continue to surge south along the Indus River.”
Last weekend, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the region and said it was the worst disaster he’d ever seen. The U.N. has set a goal of $460 million in aid. Yesterday, Secretary of State Clinton announced total U.S. aid would be $150 million, up from an initial pledge of $92 million. According to BBC reports, the European Union has increased its pledge to $180 million, the United Kingdom has pledged $100 million, Germany has pledged $32 million, and Saudi Arabia was pledging $100 million.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in two Department of Defense (DoD) Bloggers Round Tables focused on department Pakistan disaster relief efforts. It is worth noting that the U.S. military response is just one part of a much larger U.S. government effort. As of August 18th, the DoD reported, “There currently are 22 U.S. military and civilian aircraft in Pakistan in support of flood relief operations. U.S. helicopters have evacuated more than 4600 people and delivered more than 500,000 pounds of relief supplies. In addition, U.S. military cargo aircraft based in Afghanistan have transported more than 194,000 pounds of international aid from the Pakistan Air Force’s Central Flood Relief Cell in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to required locations throughout the country in support of Government of Pakistan airlift support requests.”
The participating helicopters have been from Army units stationed in Afghanistan, Marine helicopters which flew in from the amphibious ship, USS Peleliu and Navy helicopters which flew into Pakistan from Bahrain. Weather has been a major challenge. On August 13th, General Michael Nagata, Deputy Commander, Office of the Defense Representative, Pakistan: “Yes, the weather is certainly a factor. Of the available flying days we’ve had since the task force began its activities…we’ve been completely ready to go, as have a large number of Pakistani military aviation elements and their helicopters. But the weather in the Swat Valley are that we’ve been trying to get to…has simply not allowed it”.
Navy helo pilot, Lieutenant (Lt) Sean Snyder echoed the General’s concern in a August 19 interview, stating: “We’ve been on the ground for six days…and the first couple of days here, the weather was pretty bad…you’ve got to wait for the clouds to clear trying to get over the mountains and down in the valley.” Lt Snyder also indicated the high altitudes the helos had to fly presented some unique challenges “the higher we get in altitude, the less we can carry…the harder it is or can be to control your descent and approaches to these higher zones”.
When asked about security threats, General Nagata remarked: “…while there is obviously, a militant threat in this region, not just in Pakistan, there are some security challenges here, but the Pakistani military…have done simply an incredibly energetic and totatally committed job at providing multiple layers of security around our activities both in the air and on the ground. And frankly, we’ve just seen no evidence of a threat so far.” Lt Snyder also said he had not seen any evidence of groups like the Taliban operating on the ground. Petty Officer Second Class Kevin Strickhouser, part of Snyder’s crew also praised the Pakistan military saying they “had everything under control” while the disaster relief operations were being conducted.
Pakistan reportedly has 45 helicopters and some 60,000 troops devoted to the relief efforts. They are the ones coordinating where the helicopters fly into and are also providing security on the ground.
All reporting indicates this disaster is still unfolding. What will be worth monitoring is how this affects the stability of the Pakistan government. The Pakistan military appears to be getting high marks but there are reports that many Pakistanis are dissatisfied with the government conduct during this crisis. It will also be interesting to see if there are more reports of the Pakistan Taliban taking advantage of the situation to improve their image with the population by providing aid.
As always, my opinions are my own.
