Posted on 09/04/2005 9:00:37 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Kuwait Pledges $500M for Hurricane Relief Updated: Sunday, Sep. 4, 2005 - 11:26 AM
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - The oil-rich Persian Gulf state of Kuwait said Sunday it will donate $500 million in aid to U.S. relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
The offer is the largest known put forward since the hurricane ravaged Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and follows a $100 million aid donation from the emir of a Mideast neighbor, Qatar.
Kuwait's energy minister said his country would provide "oil products that the disaster-stricken states need in addition to other humanitarian aid."
"It's our duty as Kuwaitis to stand by our friends to lighten the humanitarian misery and as a payback for the many situations during which Washington helped us through the significant relations between the two friendly countries," Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah said in a statement carried by Kuwait's official news agency, KUNA.
Kuwait is one of America's closest Mideast allies and owes its 1991 liberation from Iraqi occupation forces to a U.S.-led coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's army out.
Kuwait and Qatar's donations came as the Egypt-based 22-member Arab League called on Arab nations to provide relief to the U.S.
The Arab League said that its secretary-general, Amr Moussa, sent a cable of "deep condolences and regret to the U.S. administration over the effect of Hurricane Katrina ... and called on all Arab countries to extend aid to the United States to face the exceptional humane circumstances."
That post made me really laugh..hahahahaha
WOW!
Bah they're paying back a very small amount of what US spent to free Kuwait from Saddam.
There was a National Geographic article on Qatar a few years back. The Emir is trying to hold his country together while implementing small, incremental democratic reforms. So far, so good.
Much as I despise Al Jazeera, it's one of the few media outlets in the Arab world that's not state-controlled. Wrong or not, they're the Arab version of Fox News.
Kudos to Walmart! And I'm glad about the Kuwait and Qatar donations, though I agree I'd like to know precisely to what organizations in the US those dollars go.
Wow. Pretty amazing.
They actually paid that in full long ago.
I'm liking the Kuwaitis more every minute.
Floored actually. Almost beyond belief.
Looks like we shamed them into it - thanks, Kuwait!!!
Wow this is great stuff.
I find your post very funny considering the French flag you're flying on your home page. Just how much help has France pledged to us? I'm waiting.........
There's a song that was written about Amr Moussa...
"I Hate Israel and I Love Amr Moussa"
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw989315702302B221
View all this in context:
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/570/fr2.htm
To frequent rounds of applause, the audience followed Moussa's argument every step of the way. "The war against international terrorism could not be used as a pretext to launch military strikes against any Arab country." "Iraq should not be the target for any strikes as part of the US war in Afghanistan." "We are not going to be fooled by what Ariel Sharon or anyone in the Israeli government says. We know that the mood of the Israeli right-wing political and military establishment is against peace and for the liquidation of the Palestinian cause. Despite Israel's military power, we will simply exert every political effort to prevent the implementation of the Israeli plan." "Israel will not be allowed to control the region. This simply cannot be." "Israel is not a powerful state thanks to its potential. It is strong because it receives unlimited support." "Israel is like 'the mayor's daughter': an unattractive woman with no allure or charm who is simply desirable because she is the daughter of an influential man. Do you know who the mayor is?," asked Moussa. "The US," answered the entire audience in chorus.
This, said Moussa, was not to suggest that a conflict with the US is imminent or necessary. On the contrary, he was referring to the need to win US support -- a goal most Arab regimes are working to achieve already.
"Much as I despise Al Jazeera, it's one of the few media outlets in the Arab world that's not state-controlled. "
Al Jazeera is totally state controlled - and funded.
Huray for Kuwait!
Wow! 500 mil is nothing to sneeze at--thanks, Kuwait!
Thank you Kuwait! People actually appreciate being liberated from a dictator?
Al Jazeera recieves both public funds and funds from the state of Qatar. It's like NPR, PBS or the BBC. Like those it tends to represent the interests of the EU globalist types. It really doesn't represent the interest of the Qatar goverment.
This is accomplished most likely because Al Jazeera does have a seperate board of directors from the Qatar government.
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