Tel-Chai Nation

In a most blatant show of duplicity, the US government has either dropped Israel from any credit in the relief efforts for New Orleans, or has avoided mentioning the country altogether. From the World Tribune:

The United States has avoided any mention of Israeli participation in the international aid effort for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In a briefing on Sept. 6, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack focused on Arab offers of assistance to the United States.

"We also have received several large, very large, donations from Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates," McCormack said. "We have also seen donations made to the Red Cross from Australia, China, India, Ireland, Japan, Maldives, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen."

Officials said more than 90 countries and organizations have offered nearly $1 billion in assistance to Katrina victims. They cited helicopters from Canada, Russia and Singapore as well as ready-to-eat meals from Britain, Germany, Italy and Mexico. Bahrain has offered $5 million, a decision that sparked a storm in parliament.

Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also thanked donors for the Katrina relief effort. Ms. Rice cited offers of assistance from numerous countries, including China and France. She did not mention Israel.

Officials acknowledged that Israel was one of the first countries to offer to send military and civilian teams to New Orleans. But they said the administration, which has highlighted offers of aid from Islamic governments as well as American Arab and Muslim groups, asked Israel to postpone sending aid until a later stage.

The new Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes has been tasked with the presenting an image of a benign America sensitive to the Arab and Muslim world, U.S. officials said.

So once again, we find the US bending over backwards, unable or unwilling to take a solid stand on the subject of the Arab/Muslim world, which apparently turns to racism in its own way, which is woefully inappropriate.

And while we're on the subject, this begs the following question: why is the Bush administration giving aid to the PLO, which recently called for jihad against US soldiers, instead of allocating it for those who really need it - the victims of Katrina?

Also,

Officials said the Bush administration delayed accepting Israel's immediate offer to help the hurricane victims. They said the administration was concerned that such a move would deter Arab and Islamic countries from offering assistance.

"At one point, the administration signaled that it would accept Israeli help, but preferred that it be as part of a mission organized by the American Jewish community," an official said. "There appeared to a problem with having the Israeli flag in a foreign rescue mission in the United States."

I seem to remember that the administration was reluctant to accept aid from Israel even during 9-11. Let's be clear, in a situation involving people who've been murdered, or who even just died in a natural disaster, you don't do things that run the risk of discrimination. Unfortunately, in their panicky efforts to appease the Arab/Muslim world, which certainly didn't impress people during 9-11, the administration has only ended up giving a bad impression of themselves.

Hat tip: Jihad Watch.

Labels: State Dept