This story has been all over the news (Washington Post, Politico, Fox and more), so surely you have seen it already.
I had planned to post it while it was fresh but I was trying to find out if Clinton and Obama used ERMA (Emergency Refugee Migration Assistance) funds for this. The fund itself stands at around $100 million and we know the Administration already sent $20 million from the ERMA account to Hamas (oops! Gaza Palestinians), so this Pakistan gift would wipe out the fund. That $20 million of course has been the source of unending rumors that it was being used to bring Palestinians to the US. Judy has twice clarified this story here and here in response to a commenter.
So, if you didn’t see that we are sending $110 million to Pakistan for refugees (in addition to untold millions to Pakistan in general) here is the Washington Post story. If anyone finds from which pot of money this refugee aid has been sent, please let us know!
The Obama administration said yesterday that it will provide $110 million in emergency aid for Pakistani civilians displaced by recent fighting in the Swat Valley, as a Pakistani military offensive against the radical Islamist Taliban and allied foreign fighters continues to drive people from their homes.
The aid, announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is intended to help the Pakistani government meet the needs of nearly 1.2 million internal refugees who have fled the fighting in the past month in an exodus that U.N. officials say rivals that caused by the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis are living in tents in squalid, sweltering refugee camps. Others are staying with relatives or host families or have rented temporary lodging.
Read on.
The Politico story (linked above) says that our military is going to give the money and supplies to the Pakistani military and aid groups to distribute. How much military do we have in Pakistan?
Meanwhile, see this post about why we should not contemplate bringing Pakistani refugees to the US.