Wirt,

I was already informed of other countries that are involved, so your
perception was already misplaced.

I was questioning the level of contribution.

As for the people who have suffered, I hope that the suffering can be
reduced; the individuals who may be trapped, that they be recovered safely
and for the ones who lost loved ones, that their grief be shared.


----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: Relief Efforts


Joe writes:

> The United States is such a horrible country that they are sending 150,000
> pounds of medical supplies to Iran.
>
> I wonder how much France, Germany and Russia will be sending. Also, what
> about the arab countries in the region.

In both the short-term and the long-run, misinformed, highly parochial
opinions are much worse for all involved than having no opinion at all.
Russia,
France and Germany were among the first to offer and have relief on the way,
in
great part because of their proximity and because they never broke
diplomatic
relations with Iran.

None of this information is hard to find, nor is it the result of closely
guarded secrets; it's nearly universally available. The following is a
Reuters'
story taken from today's Toronto Star:

=======================================

GENEVA—The United Nations, the European Union and countries including the
United States and Russia were sending aid to Iran to help victims of a
devastating earthquake yesterday.

"We are offering humanitarian assistance," U.S. President George W. Bush's
spokesperson said. "This is a terrible tragedy."

The U.S. State Department was expected to spell out details on aid shortly,
an official said.

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran after militant
students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, and held 52
Americans
hostage for 444 days. Bush has referred to Iran as part of an "axis of evil"
along with North Korea and pre-war Iraq and Washington has accused Iran's
government of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Canada expressed sympathy for the loss of life in the ancient Silk Road city
of Bam in southeast Iran. Federal officials said they were still determining
what aid to send.

"Canadian officials continue to closely monitor the situation, and are in
touch with United Nations and Red Crescent personnel conducting emergency
assessments on the ground," said Aileen Carroll, federal minister for
international
co-operation. "Canada stands ready to provide urgent humanitarian assistance
to
those affected by this tragedy."

Italy, as current president of the European Union, was co-ordinating EU aid
to avoid duplication.

U.N. officials said they were releasing an immediate emergency grant of
$90,000 (U.S.) to help Iran handle the aftermath of the earthquake and had
sent
experts to help assess the damage. The world body's Office for the
Co-ordination
of Humanitarian Affairs said the U.N. team would also work to mobilize and
oversee international assistance.

The immediate need was for medicine, tents, mobile hospitals, electricity
generators, water purification equipment and blankets, said Madeleine
Moulin-Azevedo of the humanitarian affairs office. Tehran authorities had
not yet
identified any urgent requirement for food supplies, the U.N. agency said.

UNICEF, the U.N. children's fund, said it was sending first-aid kits and
medical supplies. It called for $350,000 in donations.

Russia's emergencies ministry has offered rapid-response units of doctors,
paramedics and sniffer dog handlers to help find people buried under rubble.

Italy was sending a C-130 military transport plane with a sniffer dog unit,
firefighters and search teams, its civil protection department said.

Agostino Miozzo, who is co-ordinating the EU aid, said France was sending a
field hospital and the Czech Republic, one of 10 countries entering the bloc
next year, had also offered aid.

Germany was flying in medical supplies, 500 blankets, 1,500 winter coats,
clothing and other emergency shelter equipment, officials said. Berlin said
it
was making 500,000 euros available in emergency aid. Britain, Poland,
Jordan,
Finland and Turkey, which has intensive experience in dealing with
earthquake
disasters, were sending rescuers and equipment including thermal imaging
cameras
to locate survivors under rubble.

========================================

Wirt Atmar

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *