Aid workers rushed to provide food and shelter to 3 million people in Pakistan on Wednesday, as flood waters continued to ravage hundreds of villages in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province. With anger rising over the widely criticized Pakistani government's response, the Obama administration quickly dispatched six military helicopters to airlift victims and ferry in relief supplies — including hundreds of thousands of ready-made halal meals that abide by Islamic dietary rules. Will the U.S. relief effort boost our image among the Pakistani people, and improve our chances of defeating Taliban insurgents hiding in their midst? (Watch a report on Pakistan's flooding)
The U.S. should turn this crisis into an opportunity: So far, the Obama administration has offered $10 million in humanitarian aid, says Howard LaFranchi in The Christian Science Monitor. But far more will be needed as the death toll, already at more than 1,300, rises. The U.S. has a chronic image problem with Pakistan's Muslim population — this is the perfect chance to show our humanitarian side, and start "winning the hearts and minds of Pakistanis."
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