Follow Up: City of New Orleans

I'm happy to report that I was wrong about other countries sending aid to the United States to assist along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. Among the most pleasant of surprises is the generous offer of Qatar, a long-time ally in the Middle East, who has pledged $100 million in aid. There, indeed, is a friend.

There have been some other surprising offers from surprising places. $5 million from China. Doctors and medicine from Cuba. $1 million from Nigeria. And various offers of assistance from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, countries still recovering from the tsunami just eight months ago.

There have been dozens of other offers, some in line with what you'd expect. Some a little light. NATO as an organization has come through, which is comforting. Still disappointing are the responses of France and Germany, whose offers, while generous with materiel, lacks financial assistance. With the exception of Qatar, none really come close to repaying the generosity and efforts of the United States and its people to all of those countries in the past, but "this isn't a contest" and in some respects we should be grateful for any offer at all.

I don't want to drag out this commentary any longer, this being a sports forum, but I did want to acknowledge that my earlier accusatory frustration may have been a bit premature.