US now aiding North Korea, Myanmar, China

One is a charter member of the "Axis of Evil." One is an original "outpost of tyranny." And one is arguably the United States' biggest strategic competitor.

But with today's announcement that the U.S. Agency for International Development will deliver food aid to North Korea (it of the Axis of Evil brand) to avert famine there, the United States is involved in humanitarian relief operations in all three East Asian countries.

Officially, the decision to send 500,000 metric tons of food commodities to North Korea is not linked to six-nation talks over dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. Humanitarian aid is seperate from political considerations, US officials say. That's true as far as it goes. Unofficially, U.S. officials are hoping the aid will not only save lives, but also help reassure prickly North Korea as the diplomatic arm-wrestling over its nuclear arms reaches a critical juncture.

The size of the relief package was a subject of intense debate. Half a million tons is a lot of food and, we're told, represents most of U.S. government food reserves for foreign disasters. That means stocks could be low if another major act of nature strikes.

Because there was credible evidence that past international shipments of relief to North Korea were diverted to the country's military, the United States insisted that U.N. and nongovernmental groups distributing the aid will have broad access to the hermetic country, and the ability to monitor deliveries.

As we've previously posted here and here, the U.S. military is also delivering small amounts of aid to Myanmar (also known as a) Burma or b) an "outpost of tyranny.")

The United States persuaded the junta that rules the country to allow a few U.S. relief flights in each day. But there is still no sign that the country will swing open its borders wide enough to allow the kind of massive relief effort that experts say is needed in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

That leaves....

How do you help a country that is neither friend, nor enemy, seems to be eating your economy for lunch, but just suffered a horrific earthquake Monday with a death toll that officially stands at 22,000, and may rise to 50,000?

The U.S. government immediately wrote a check to the Chinese for $500,000. While that's not nothing, it's a largely symbolic expression of concern. The Bush administration also has been providing satellite imagery of the disaster zone to the commies, er, government in Beijing and the State Department announced Friday that China has agreed to accept U.S. relief flights. Two Air Force C-17 flights with supplies are planned.

Beyond that, we're told, a joint public-private effort to aid and rebuild affected areas of Sichuan province is in the works. It would involve major U.S. companies doing business in China, and perhaps some prominent Chinese-Americans. U.S. firms are eager to build good will in what is becoming the world's largest consumer market. So remember: humanitarian aid is not political. Until it is.