09 October 2001
U.S. Food Airdrops Will Continue As Long As Needed
(Rations meet cultural, nutritional needs of Afghan people) (670)
By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- When two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jets dropped 37,500
packets of food and medicine in two areas of Afghanistan October 7,
they were making good on President Bush's commitment to provide
humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld says.
"This is just the first installment of the president's pledge of $320
million of assistance to the people of Afghanistan," he said October
7. The airdrops will assist the Afghan people who are coping with a
growing humanitarian crisis, he said.
Air Force General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said October 8 at a Pentagon briefing that the food drops would
continue as long as needed and are being dropped in areas of
Afghanistan where there are concentrations of Afghan refugees.
The Air Force is prepared to airdrop up to 2 million food packets, but
airdrops will also include medicine, blankets and comfort items, the
Pentagon said.
The objective is to provide food through all available means into
regions where displaced people are at risk, Rumsfeld said. The total
includes $25 million that was authorized by the president on September
28 from the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund aimed at
helping large numbers of refugees who may cross from Afghanistan into
Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The United States also will contribute assistance totaling $295
million to be provided through United Nations assistance agencies, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, non-governmental
organizations, and through direct provision of food and relief
supplies, the Pentagon said. None of the relief funds will be provided
to the Taliban government, the Pentagon said.
The daily ration packets provided through airdrops were designed by
the Defense Department for use in emergencies to feed and sustain
moderately malnourished people until more traditional feeding systems
become available, the Pentagon said.
The rations, which are pre-packaged, ready-to-eat foods, are designed
to be nutritious -- providing 2,200 calories daily -- and culturally
sensitive, the Pentagon said. "Since their first use in 1993, they
have emerged as a significant and lasting contributor to the fight
against hunger," the Pentagon said.
The food rations contain two main vegetarian meals based heavily on
lentils, beans and rice, and also complementary items like bread, a
fruit bar, a fortified biscuit, peanut butter and spices. Beans with
tomatoes, beans and rice, and bean salad are entrees among the five
available menus, the Pentagon said.
The rations are packaged in bright yellow packets for easy
identification on the ground when airdropped. They "float" down to
populations, using no parachutes or pallets, Rumsfeld said. They are
marked with the words, "A Food Gift From the People of the United
States of America," and include directions on how to eat the foods.
The humanitarian food rations are based on the U.S. military's Meals,
Ready-to-Eat, or MREs, which are designed for combat troops in the
field, the Pentagon said. The humanitarian food aid packets cost $4 to
produce and have a shelf life of 18-24 months, the Pentagon said.
The first airdrop of these new humanitarian rations was over Bosnia on
November 22, 1993, as part of the humanitarian relief effort Operation
Provide Promise, the Air Force said. Since then, 8 million rations
have been provided to refugees in Iraq, Cuba, Bosnia, Rwanda and
Haiti, the Pentagon said.
"This is our way of saying that, while we firmly and strongly oppose
the Taliban regime, we are friends of the Afghan people," Bush said.
"We will make sure that not only the folks in Afghanistan who need
help get help, but we will help those who have fled to neighboring
countries to get help as well."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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