US military ends quake aid

The next chapter of Abdul Qaduz's earthquake recovery began rather silently, without fuss or fanfare. Within moments his family pulled down their tent, where five had huddled at night for months, and promptly put it in the back of a truck, along with chairs and mattresses, cooking pots, and electrical wires. The aging father says he will repitch his tent on a patch of ground when he returns home. Only its outline remained pressed in the dirt, surrounded by cans of vegetable oil marked "USA" in large letters.

Thousands of families like those of Mr. Qaduz are expected to return to their native villages by Friday, inaugurating the next phase of the earthquake rehabilitation. Also heading home are US military personnel involved in helping those families get back on their feet. Friday marks the official end of the US humanitarian operation that began within 48 hours of the earthquake.

In the last six months, some 1,200 US military personnel and a fleet of 24 helicopters have delivered over 15,000 tons of humanitarian aid, in what has been called the largest disaster relief operation in US military history.

The "angels of mercy," as US helicopters have been called, have delivered not only aid but much needed goodwill in Pakistan, softening an otherwise rocky relationship with the United States. Polling in recent months has shown a marked improvement for the US image among the Pakistani public as a result of the American helping hand.

Mr. Qaduz and other survivors say the generosity from the US soldiers and relief workers will never be forgotten. "They have helped us a lot. It should be written in history," he says, his brothers nodding their heads in agreement.

But some analysts caution that the US must sustain its commitment to reconstruction if larger criticisms against its foreign policies are to be minimized.

"While on the one side, the relations between the US and Pakistan should improve, on the other hand much more has to be done to continue the goodwill built through earthquake relief," says Lt. Gen. Kamal Matinuddin (ret.), a political analyst in Islamabad. "Otherwise it will wither away."

The government's March 31 deadline is timed partly to the passing of winter into spring. As warming temperatures clear snow from the highland communities devastated by the October quake, thousands of tents that once crowded the lower hills and open plains have been rolled up. Hundreds of families are making the trek back home, some happy to be returning, others worried that they will not find the medical and relief services they have come to rely on for so many bitter months.

The US military presence helped make those services possible. At an official farewell ceremony Thursday at an airport outside Islamabad, there were words of thanks and bittersweet goodbyes from both sides.

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