In a surprise move, the US has dispanded the tsunami relief 'core group' of nations to allow the UN to run the relief effort.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday in Jakarta that the United Nations will take over coordination of the relief effort from a core group of nations.
The reason?
"The core group helped to catalyze the international response," Powell said, according to a prepared text released by the State Department."Having served its purpose, it will ... now fold itself into the broader coordination efforts of the United Nations."
Powell is stretching the truth when he says "The core group helped to catalyze the international response." The US was slow off the mark in realising the seriousness of the situation. Admittedly, they quickly caught up with events, but by the time they convened the 'core group' three days after the tsunami, many other countries and relief organisations had already swung into action.
One hopes that ceding the relief effort to the UN marks a new era of multilateral cooperation by the US.
More likely it means they saw the reality of the situation. The US has more than enough on its plate without taking on another major crisis.
Either way, they made the correct decision. The UN is more experienced and better placed to continue the task in the years after the politicians and the public have lost interest in the event.
