I SEEN YOU 'ROUND FOR A LONG, LONG TIME:

When military ties save lives (Stanley A. Weiss, February 5, 2005, International Herald Tribune)

The devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami was answered with a massive global outpouring of charity and the largest humanitarian effort in history. Yet not all the relief efforts across the region were created equal, and a tale of two countries reveals that the attitude of local militaries made a crucial difference.

Here in Thailand, within hours of the disaster, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra accepted an offer of assistance from the United States. Within days, the Americans set up a regional command center at the air base in Utapao, where military teams from nine nations have managed the largest military operation in Asia since the Vietnam War.

Across the Straits of Malacca in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh, cooperation has not been as smooth. Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general, has publicly thanked foreign troops and relief groups. But elements within the Indonesian armed forces haven't been as welcoming.

In the first days of the disaster, foreign aircraft bearing emergency aid were denied landing rights, and some aid groups were turned away. Relief workers have had to obtain special permission and military escorts when traveling war-torn Aceh. The arrival of U.S. troops in the coastal city of Meulaboh was delayed when Indonesians feared the sight of marines coming ashore would smack of an invasion.

Why the reluctance to embrace the Americans?

As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, religious sensitivities - and Washington's war on terror, seen by many as a war on Islam - are surely factors. But the lack of closer military-to-military ties may explain why some in the Indonesian armed forces remain wary of the United States. [...]

[A]n early lesson of this post-tsunami world is that the military ties often scorned by critics can - and do - save lives in times of peace as well as war.

It would seem the least a people could expect of their leaders is that they have sense enough to recognize that America is a pretty useful friend.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 6, 2005 9:42 AM