Crisis In Burma Pt 1 with Laura Bush

Weeks after a cyclone devastated Burma's Irrawaddy Delta, the military junta that rules Burma finally agreed to allow neighboring Asian countries to organize international relief efforts. According to the United Nations and the Red Cross, more than 100,000 people died in the cyclone and its aftermath. Hundreds of thousands more are in grave danger, facing starvation and disease, and yet the Burmese regime has refused to allow the United States and other nations to race relief supplies directly to the people in the coastal region. The U.S. Navy has ships in the region from which helicopters have been ready to airlift food, water, and shelter to the storm-ravaged area. What little aid Burma has allowed in has been flown to Rangoon, and some international aid organizations have complained that the Burmese army has been diverting aid to its own use. In this special edition of On The Line, host Eric Felten sat down to discuss the issue with First Lady Laura Bush.

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News & Politics

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• Burma
• Cyclone
• Nargis
• Laura
• Bush
• commentary
• analysis