Asia

Bangladesh: The dangers of US assistance

 On November 15th Cyclone Sidr hit the Indian Ocean causing death and destruction. The damage in Bangladesh was extensive, tin shacks flattened, houses and schools blown away and enormous tree damage. Some local officials have described the damage as being even worse than that from the 1991 cyclone. The entire cities of Patuakhali, Barguna and Jhalokati District were hit hard by the storm surge of over 5 meters (16 ft). About a quarter of the world heritage site Sunderbans were damaged. Researchers said mangrove forest Sunderban will take at least 40 years to recover itself from this catastrophe. Much of the capital city of Dhaka was also severely affected, as electricity and water services were cut and significant damage was reported there due to winds and flooding. The local agricultural industry was also devastated, as were many rice crops – which have a December harvest.
At least 3,447 deaths have been reported. The hardest-hit area was Barguna, where 423 people were reported to have been killed according to local officials. Patuakhali was also hard-hit, with 385 deaths reported. The head of the Red Crescent in Bangladesh expects the death toll to reach as high as 10,000. Over 3,000 other fishermen were reported missing on over 500 fishing boats

Bangladesh, due to its unique geographic location, suffers from devastating tropical cyclones frequently. The funnel-shaped northern portion of the Bay of Bengal causes tidal bores when cyclones make landfall, and thousands of people living in the coastal areas are affected. Some of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history with high casualties were tropical cyclones that hit the region now forming Bangladesh. Among them, the 1970 Bhola cyclone alone claimed more than 500,000 lives.

Poor Government Planning

Knowing such history the Bangladeshi authorities have made little progress in dealing with the potential threat of cyclones. Bangladesh has no weather satellites of its own. The three satellite ground stations, located in Betbunia, Talibabad, and Mohakhali, are used to receive feeds from other satellites. Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organisation (SPARRSO), a Government agency under the ministry of defence, provides storm predictions and early warnings using feeds from NASA and NOAA's satellites. The authorities did take some action after the cyclone of 1991 around 2,500 cyclone shelters have been constructed in the coastal regions. The shelters are built on elevated platforms, and serve the dual role of schools or community centers during normal weather. In Patenga, Chittagong, the coast has been heavily protected with concrete levees. Also, a forestation has been initiated in the coastal regions to create a green belt.

Due the Bangla authorities lack of planning and progress they have been reliant on foreign money to tackle the aftermath. Saudi Arabia donated $100 million to the relief effort as the country's largest relief sum ever. The European Commission also released $2.4 million in emergency relief to Bangladesh. The United States, through the US Agency for International Development, has pledged more than $14.4 million in emergency assistance, including more than $10 million in food assistance from the US Food for Peace program. The United States Navy also released over 3,500 Marines aboard USS Kearsarge and USS Wasp (located in the Gulf of Oman) and USS Tarawa (located in Hawaii) to aid in the recovery efforts.

The arrival of the US navy reflects a worrying trend and a highly questionable move. The US state department made its decision to send the ships without any consultation with the Bangladesh government. The government of Bangladesh has been totally silent on the issue. The US has a history of using disasters to further it’s own interests. In an award wining book ‘the shock doctrine’ Naomi Klein highlighted numerous examples over the last 30 years where the US utilised the disorientation created from a crisis such as the Tsunami in Sri Lanka or man-made disasters such as a financial crisis or recession to further its aims. Klein highlights how the US has taken advantage of numerous incidents to pass through polices which would normally never be considered acceptable. She states,

“Immediately following September 11, the Bush Administration quietly out-sources the running of the “War on Terror” to Halliburton and Blackwater…. After a tsunami wipes out the coasts of Southeast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts…. New Orleans’s residents, scattered from Hurricane Katrina, discover that their public housing, hospitals and schools will never be reopened…. These events are examples of “the shock doctrine”: using the public’s disorientation following massive collective shocks – wars, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters – to achieve control.”

US strategic goals

The Pentagon's most recent policy assessment, the Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) called for a stiffening of present US combat forces in Asia and the Pacific, with a particular emphasis on the US Navy (the arm of the military least used in the ongoing occupation of Iraq). The review highlighted that the US faces substantial threats to its interests across the world which require the deployment of the US military to key hot spots across the world. It is well known that the US has a long standing goal to establish a military base in Bangladesh and its territorial waters in order to contain China which represents a significant threat to US dominance. Bangladesh for China represents the shortest route to reach the Indian Ocean which provides major sea routes to the Middle East and 40% of the worlds offshore oil production. A base in Bangladesh for the US would severely curtail Chinese influence in the area.

It was for such reasons the Chinese refused the USS Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group entry to Hong Kong for a port in November. Similarly two US minesweepers seeking to refuel and shelter from bad weather in the South China Sea had asked for permission to enter Hong Kong three or four days before the Kitty Hawk. Those ships were denied, according to Adm. Timothy Keating, who heads the US Pacific Command. China has in the past barred US Navy ships from Hong Kong as the US has a history of prolonged military presence long after wars and disasters have ended.

Lt. Cmdr. Steven Curry, a spokesman for the 7th Fleet, which has its home port in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo complained that "It had been planned for several months," however In Hong Kong, port officials said they had not been notified of the previously scheduled visit. Hong Kong has long been a favoured port of call for the US military but Beijing's approval has been required since July 1, 1997, when Britain handed the former colony back to China.

The US today has a substantial presence in both Germany and Japan although WW2 ended 60 years ago. In Iraq the US has upgraded and modernized its bases which indicate they will not be leaving anytime soon. The US maintains troops in Kuwait since the first gulf war; the states of Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Oman although under no significant threat all have a large US presence.

The Bangladeshi regime should remember that very few countries have ever benefited from US military presence in their countries. The US is well known to meddle in the affairs of a country when its troops are present, always accompanied by hundreds of officials, advisors and hangers on who delve into all areas of policy and administration. All Muslims working for political change within Bangladesh must appreciate the wider context of the US-Chinese conflict for regional hegemony and the perils this places upon the area. It should also be clearly understand the imminent dangers posed by US ‘assistance’, disguised as humanitarian help but in fact aimed at extending its colonial influence to a vital and important region of the world.