The New York Times published an editorial on 30 December 2004 defending a UN official's criticism of wealthy nations' foreign aid levels, directing particular attention at Washington's response to the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.
The paper took issue with the White House's initial $15 million pledge to the affected countries, pointing out that the Republican Party intended to spend more than twice that amount on President George W. Bush's upcoming inauguration. The administration later raised its commitment to $35 million and announced it would send military transport aircraft and naval vessels to support relief operations.
The Times called the revised figure a "miserly drop in the bucket," siding openly with Jan Egeland, the UN's chief disaster relief coordinator, whose earlier remark that rich nations were stingy with aid had prompted indignant responses from Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The editorial also drew on broader aid statistics. The US government provided $16.2 billion in development assistance in 2003, compared with $37.1 billion from the European Union. In 2002, the figures were $13.2 billion from the United States against $29.9 billion from Europe.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in December 2004, in its own words.