WMD

Wave of mass destruction

The massive tsunami that devastated
South Asia and parts of Africa could
help the region enter the 21st century

LET'S get this tsunami in perspective. Weapons of mass destruction were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Following the first use of atomic weapons, Hiroshima had 66,000 dead and 69,000 injured. Nagasaki had 39,000 dead and 25,000 injured. At this point authorities are estimating more than 150,000 dead in the South Asia earthquake and tsunami -- a "wave of mass destruction" far exceeding the deaths in both atomic explosions in Japan in 1945. The injured numbers will run into the hundreds of thousands and many of them will die. The human toll is already profound and almost beyond comprehension.

It will get greater because of the impact of the wave on the economies of the 11 countries it hit. We're only just beginning to get a picture of the damage that will generate malnutrition, spread disease, divert resources, add to unemployment, slow or terminate production, and disrupt economies. Here's a quick look at what the underlying problems are:

» Infrastructure: Roads and railroads were destroyed by the quake and tsunami in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and elsewhere that are critical to the movement of goods to markets and food and supplies to small towns and villages. One complete train, with 1,000 people on board, was lost in India. Electrical lines in these areas are down. Water supply, purification and desalination plants have been affected.

The tsunami slammed thousands of miles of coastline, destroying innumerable boats that are the base of the work world in these areas and are critical to communications and supply. We seldom think about the routines of a functioning economy through which earnings are created and people are fed. A vast dependence has been created through the removal of the most basic means of earning a living and surviving in an ordinary life.

» The tourism industry: The damage to Phuket, an island on Thailand's west coast that has come to epitomize resort life, is inestimable. But it is symbolic of what has happened throughout the tsunami region.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists from both the northern and southern hemispheres flock to Phuket and surrounding resorts to enjoy the region's hospitality, warmth and physical beauty. Where other resources are lacking, the beaches of Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other states have served as an economic understructure, giving these countries increasingly steady income and employment.

Another tsunami like this one is unlikely but names like Phuket and Phi Phi will now have fear attached in the minds of potential visitors. Even if that can be resolved by good marketing, the resort infrastructure -- hotels, grounds, services, personnel -- will be in disrepair for some time, with income lost to individuals, companies, and national economies. Repair and regeneration costs are estimated to be in the many billions of dollars.

» The fishing industry: Fishing is not just a means of making a living but is also a way of life in the coastal areas hit by the tsunami. Multitudes of skilled fishermen were at sea when the tsunami stormed ashore and have not been heard from since. Their skills are not easily replaceable. Nor is their catch. In most of the affected area, fish is the main source of nutrition for those living there.

This is especially true for northern Sumatra where the earthquake was closest and did its worst. The province of Aceh has been in rebellion for decades against the government in Jakarta, in part because of its historical religious resistance to outsiders, including the Portuguese, the British, the Dutch, and other Indonesians. The modern economy has made little headway here.

The Indonesian government is estimating that 80,000 died in Aceh from the effects of this combined disaster, and hundreds of thousands more affected. The tourism industry has made no inroads in Aceh and fishing and agriculture form the basis of its local economy. The worst of the effects on the fishing industry will be felt in Aceh but it will also have a powerful impact in Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), the Maldives and the east coast of Africa.

» Medical services: In the West we take for granted the provision of basic medical services. These range from availability of antiseptics and Band-aids to brain surgery for someone with a hemorrhage. In the West and even in urban centers like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, these are all there and can be rushed to regions where hurricanes strike within hours. This is not so in South Asia. Where even basic education on sanitation is lacking, competent medical attention and supplies are often missing or can't be spared from others of the country's regions. Suddenly the demand has risen 10,000-fold. Some of this can be rushed in from the outside but time will take its toll and nothing can make up for the missing doctors, nurses, technicians and medical technology that weren't there in the first place.

» Inaccessibility and segmentation: For hundreds of thousands of people who had little, now they have nothing. Lack of communication systems is hindering even the determination of how many have died, and where there was no communication system before the tsunami, there will be none afterward.

Civil conflicts in Aceh and Sri Lanka provide special resistance to the modernization that could bring wealth and health to millions in the region.

Perhaps the tsunami and the international relief effort will bring much-needed attention to this struggling part of the world that will help bring it into the 21st century. But probably not. The people of South Asia have struggled with poverty in lives of desperation for centuries. This WMD is unlikely to improve their prospects unless the West comes not just to provide short-term aid, but to help permanently restructure the economic systems which already were grinding out only subsistence living for a quarter of the globe's population.

Hey, ABC!
Isn’t it time you gave
Hawaii a fair shake?

When 24 Asia-Pacific countries sent their top counterterrorist experts and special unit commanders to the recent 12th annual Pacific Area Special Operations Conference, they met in Honolulu. When the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies hosts conferences on security and terrorism, it holds them in Honolulu. When senior U.S. officials from China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea hold serious talks about proliferation or the WMD threat by North Korea, they are held in Honolulu. ...

Honolulu is not only the headquarters for the Special Operations Command Pacific, and the aforementioned Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, it is also the seat of the Center for Strategic and International Studies - Pacific Forum, the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, the East-West Center, the Honolulu Council on Foreign Relations, and other country-specific organizations that host serious conferences. ...

Isn't it time for ABC to drop 1950s' stereotypes of Hawaii as "lavish luaus" and sun and fun? Something has happened while ABC reporters watched old movies the past 50 years. Honolulu is emerging as one of the important conference and business centers for the Asia-Pacific region ... because of Hawaii's strategic location, its well-developed infrastructure of Asia-Pacific-focused think tanks, schools and operational headquarters.

ABC's criticism of the Department of Homeland Security's expenditures was closely associated with loaded words and phrases calculated to cast aspersions on Hawaii. ...

Consider "basking in the warm Hawaiian sun for the meeting" (not in the actual air conditioned meeting rooms?), "lavish luaus" (as opposed to a Cleveland hotel's lavish buffet?), "short walk to the beach" (as opposed to a short walk to the hotel bar?). Sun, luaus, beach? Yes, Honolulu is proudly guilty of these apparently immoral assets. ...

It's all in the choice of words, as in the "too cozy relationships" between the U.S. companies that build the technology and equipment needed for achieving security from terrorists and the public officials who need to buy this equipment.

Did ABC fail to notice the full title of this gathering: "and Exposition?" Coping with terrorism requires the latest tech- nologies and equipment, and bureaucrats do not produce them -- private industry produces them. ...

Did ABC fail to notice that terrorism in Asia ... has grown dramatically? The growing threat to America's overwhelmingly Asia-based trade and investments ... makes the terrorist operations in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, and North Korea's actions of critical importance to the U.S. and to Asia. The expertise concerning these subjects lies in Honolulu, not in a distant city on the mainland.

Isn't it time for ABC to break out of outdated stereotypes and look at Honolulu and Hawaii as it really is today, and not how they think it is?

Yes, we are an attractive tourist state, but why ignore what else we have become? Isn't it time for ABC to give Hawaii a fair shake?.