Bureaucrat blockhead: jihadist involvement in Pakistani flood relief no big deal because “the needs are so vast”

At the daily State Department briefing on Aug. 23, 2010, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dan Feldman (a former aid to Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton) dismissed concerns about the involvement of terrorist organizations in Pakistani flood relief because “the needs are so vast.”

If you have any trouble with the video above, here’s the transcript:

QUESTION: Yes, sir. (Inaudible) VOA Pashto Service. We broadcast the region which is mostly affected by the floods. When we talk to people there, we hear from them that some (inaudible) organizations are involved in distributing flood relief items, and also, it comes at a time that the Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar yesterday told a briefing that the militant organization are taking advantage of the situation and they are regrouping in the area. So I just wonder how you would respond to that and you would like to comment on that?

MR. FELDMAN: I know Mark has addressed questions in the past about the vetting processes for how U.S. aid is distributed and what organizations are used. We are working with – last count that I saw – about 17 international organizations, UN agencies that we’ve worked with for many, many years that have the infrastructure in place to get this assistance out as quickly and efficiently as possible. And we continue to do that and there’s rigorous vetting about where those – which organizations we’ve worked with and what their histories are.

As we’ve discussed in past briefings, there’s always been stories about extremist charities operating. We think that in a situation like this where there’s a lot to be done, there may well be an opportunity for some of those organizations to operate. But there’s – again, the needs are so vast, there’s so much money now flowing in to some of the international organizations, their work is so well known and credible in these communities that I think that far outstrips the relatively narrow amounts that we’ve seen from the – from extremist organizations.

The flood relief is the “gift to the Islamists” that keeps on giving, and religious minorities are denied aid.  With video like this from our own officials, are you still feeling confident about the “rigorous vetting” process of the United States?