Islamabad, Pakistan – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday promised long-term U.S. assistance to help Pakistan rebuild from an earthquake that has taken at least 30,000 lives, left 1 million homeless and leveled villages.
Rice made an unscheduled trip to Pakistan to demonstrate U.S. support for a key player in the White House’s war on terrorism. She also was eager to be seen reciprocating the help that foreign nations, including Pakistan, gave after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.
“The United States has, as many parts of the world have, been through natural disasters. This is one of epic proportions,” Rice said after meeting with President Pervez Musharraf and other top officials. “The task of reconstruction and recovery will be quite large.”
Rice spent only 2 1/2 hours in Pakistan, adding the stop on a day in which she was also in neighboring Afghanistan discussing its future.
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which struck Saturday morning, devastated remote, mountainous regions in Pakistan-controlled areas of the disputed Kashmir region, as well as areas in India. Relief workers haven’t yet reached some villages.
Rice met briefly at Islamabad’s airport – suddenly transformed into a bustling hub for international relief efforts – with U.S. helicopter crews ferrying relief supplies and evacuating the injured. Just days ago, members of the 159th Aviation Brigade had been involved in combat in Afghanistan.
Working with the Americans were Pakistani personnel and Afghan doctors.
The United States, among the first to respond after the earthquake, has donated $50 million and sent eight helicopters.
In Afghanistan earlier, Rice and Afghan President Hamid Karzai conferred over growing threats to the country’s stability, which include resurgent violence by the Taliban and pervasive opium trafficking.
The Pentagon reportedly is considering withdrawing up to 4,000 of the 18,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and turning more responsibility over to NATO peacekeepers. But those plans are threatened by an increase in Taliban guerrilla attacks.
Rice, at a news conference in Kabul, sought to calm fears that the United States is tiring of its commitment to the country.
