Aid ship increases apprecaition for US in Muslim countries

Washington Times:

Public opinion polls conducted in two of the more populous Muslim countries showed that humanitarian aid from a U.S. Navy hospital ship had healed more than health problems. When people were made aware of the mission, it left a positive perception of the United States. These findings will encourage more such missions, officials said.
The polls, by the Washington group Terror Free Tomorrow, showed that 87 percent of Indonesians and 53 percent of Bangladeshis who had heard of the hospital ship USNS Mercy's mission to provide medical aid had a better opinion of the United States. The results were announced yesterday at the National Press Club.
Kenneth Ballen, president of Terror Free Tomorrow, which promotes fighting terrorism by winning popular support, said there was a need to hear the voice of the people.
"We hear the voice of radicals and extremists because they are the loudest. ... We need to get in there and see what people really think," he said.
The polls surveyed 1,209 persons in Indonesia and 1,010 in Bangladesh, both with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. People from a variety of economic and social dispositions were surveyed in various parts of the countries, Mr. Ballen said. The Indonesian poll was conducted by the agency Lembaga Survei Indonesia.
Humanitarian efforts "undermine ideological support for terror," said Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy.
"There is a misunderstanding about America," she said. "People don't realize that the United States is the No. 1 donor of medicine and food to the Palestinian people."
...

The aid is effective in countries like Pakistan and Indonesia. In Palestine we are dealing with intolerant religious bigots and at this point they are beyond hope. Hamas has finally figured out they they need our aid, but they are not willing to change their objectives to get it so the people suffer the consequences for their bad choice in the elections. They then whine about why we are not supporting their democratic choice. They are learning the hard way that choices have consequences.