God Bless Southeast Asia

At one time, a substantial portion of my work in public policy focused on Indonesia. I was blessed to have met a number of persons from that giant country finding all of them kind, gentle and optimistic about the great strides their nation has made in economic development and transitioning to democracy. Unfortunately, Indonesia and Southeast Asia have suffered tremendous losses of life and wealth in the tidal surge caused by the world's greatest earthquake in at least a half century.

No nation or region is better than another, but there are certainly places in the world that could weather such a calamity better than the relatively poor regions that got hit by the tidal surge. As always, the United States has stepped up to help these nations recover with an initial $15 million aid package, according to Wired News. This is the least we can do during such a crisis and we must be prepared to do a lot more. Not necessarily in appropriating monies for relief, but in appropriating monies for reconstruction of the wrecked villages along the coasts and on the islands. Many of the nations hardest hit are Muslim-dominant countries, which, if allowed to languish in destitution for great periods of time, may become recruitment centers for Osama bin Laden and his terrorism network. At such a time and in this moment, our security and the security of the citizens in these drenched villages depend on President Bush leading with his open and generous heart.