U.S. Sends Humanitarian Aid To Pakistan

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the United States was sending $110 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Pakistan, part of the administration's new strategy for countering the appeal of Taliban militants in the nuclear-armed American ally.

Clinton detailed the aid package at the White House, saying the money is flowing to ease the plight of about 2 million Pakistanis who have fled fighting in the country's Swat Valley and are living in squalid tent cities.

The White House said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had appointed Brig. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad to lead the Pakistani relief effort. He was highly praised for his work in the relief effort after the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.

Pakistan's army is engaged in major combat in Swat, in response to attempts by armed Islamic militants to solidify their hold on the region. Pakistan reluctantly undertook the offensive under pressure from the United States after Taliban fighters had taken positions within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad. The military says more than 1,000 insurgents have so far been killed in the fighting.

According to the Pentagon, it is the largest operation ever by the Pakistani military. It's exactly what the U.S. has been calling for, but it has spawned a refugee crisis with as many as 2 million villagers fleeing their homes. Pakistan is asking for help and the U.S. is eager to oblige, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

President Barack Obama has spoken of the need to improve the lives of people in both Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of the administration's new plan for linking the U.S. fight against the resurgent Taliban in the two countries.

The Taliban has provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and his top al Qaeda leadership along the lawless and mountainous border shared by Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The White House said $100 million in aid would flow from Clinton's State Department, with $10 million coming from the Pentagon.

The largest single expenditure is $26 million for the immediate purchase of wheat, other food and related items produced in Pakistan, the White House statement said.

"Pakistan welcomes the announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of over $100 million in emergency relief," said Pakistan's U.S. ambassador, Husain Haqqani. "It is a manifestation of the commitment of the United States to support the people of Pakistan and of the generosity of the U.S. people." He also encouraged those in the U.S to donate to help the refugees.

An advocacy group for refugees said the aid was "a very positive step" but added that much more is needed.

"However, this only amounts to a mere $55 per displaced person and these people will remain displaced for many months," said Patrick Duplat, of Refugees International. "To stabilize the country, the U.S. must provide many more resources to support two million displaced Pakistanis and protect them from further harm."

At the Pentagon, a spokesman said the United States was sending military assets to the region to help alleviate suffering, not with the explicit role of improving U.S. image abroad.

"They are in the midst of what arguably is the largest military operation ever undertaken by the Pakistani military, and they have shown a persistence in waging it, and we would want to be nothing but encouraging of them continuing to do so," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

"The effort to move people out of their homes and out of harm's way is about protecting them, ultimately."

Morrell said the Pentagon is sending C-17 cargo planes loaded with food, water and tents. The aid is not sent with the intent to improve public opinion of the United States, Morrell said.

"We provide relief because it's the right thing to do," he said.

"If there is an ancillary benefit in which people can see the true colors of the United States in that region - because they've been distorted in the propaganda campaigns of the Taliban and Al Qaeda and others - and can see Americans for who we truly are, which is a caring and helpful people, that is a positive benefit, no doubt about it."

It's a repeat of the aid effort the Bush administration mounted four years ago in Pakistan in the wake of a devastating earthquake. Since then, Pakistan has undergone a political earthquake in which terrorist attacks have more than quadrupled and large swaths of its frontier area have fallen under Taliban control, Martin reports.

The Pentagon would also like to send military advisers to help the Pakistani military plan and execute its operations against the Taliban, but so far the offer has been rejected, Martin reports.