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."
With all that money, the US won't need to take any from taxpayers.
Excellent! Thank you Kuwait -
Some FReepers were bitching about Kuwait on Saturday. We need to wait a week and then see who has stepped forward. This is a very generous offer.
I have no problem with the fact that some of these people "waited" so long to offer aid. It shows that they are thinking about it and have a plan instead of speaking off the cuff. 500 million thanks Kuwait.
Uhhh I was referring to W-M $287 Billion revenue. Kuwait has done right proud by themselves.
Okay, corrections noted all around: W-M gave about 0.0006% of renenue.
Wow, double wow! Thanks Kuwait! This sure put an egg on the face of that Kuwaiti official, from the other day, who said Allah brought this destruction upon New Orleans.
They'll probably just subtract it from we owe them. :O)
Thank you Kuwait, and thank you Qatar!
Agreed.
Afghanistan has kicked in $100,000. God bless em.
Thank you for posting this and thank you, Kuwait.
Agreed though I don't see six days as very long. Further Kuwait isn't going to do much of anything between noon Thursday and noon Saturday, their time.
Thanks for the link. Interesting...
"Our operational humanitarian aid group is going to meet to study the civilian and military means that France could (NOT WILL) make available from French regions and the French West Indes," said a foreign ministry spokesman, Denis Simmoneau.
Thank you Kuwait
While during this same time our "friends" the French were taking graft from and providing weapons to Saddam, and pissing and moaning about how oppressive the "sanctions" were, while also waist deep in the corrupt UN "Oil For Food" program. I'd trust a Kuwaitee over a Frenchman any day.
Sounds like they are going to be providing oil as well as humanitarian aid.
Don't. They're already going full out.
You want to hold someone's feet to the fire? Try Dayton-Hudson. They own Target and other stores. IIRC, they haven't done *anything*, while Walmart trucks carrying supplies, food, water, and clothing are rumbling into Louisiana, MS, AL, FL, and the relief centers in Texas.
K-Mart/Sears? Zip.
Walmart didn't even need to be asked, so knock off the Walmart bashing for a while.
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