More Help from the U.S.

Haunted by those pictures of starving children, their eyes bulging, their bodies bloated or matchstick thin, most Americans ask indignantly: Why has the U.S. not done more to relieve such suffering? The answer, of course, is that starvation has been a calculated weapon in the civil war between federal Nigeria and secessionist Biafra. The Nigerians are fearful that arms will flow into Biafra under the cover of relief shipments and therefore insist that aid be shipped in under their supervision. The Biafrans reject such terms because they fear foul play by the federals. The U.S. has been distressed by the Biafrans' plight, but it wants to see Nigeria survive as a unified nation; so Washington has hung back from overt aid. U.S. Government relief--$17 million to date--has been channeled through private and religious organizations.

But in recent weeks Washington's attitude has altered. Alarmed by the possibility of a vast famine that could kill thousands of Biafra's 7,000,000 people in the next three months, the Administration has decided on a more active role, one that may funnel $20 million more in relief into Biafra by the end of the fiscal year.

Last week the U.S. announced it was making available to a consortium of church relief groups four giant C-97 Stratofreighter cargo planes, and another four to the International Red Cross. The relief groups will get the aircraft--each capable of hauling 18 tons of cargo--at the bargain price of about $4,000 apiece, with the proviso that the planes are to be used exclusively for shipment of food and medical supplies to noncombatants. The decision to make the planes available was the result of pleas by a number of private individuals and church organizations. Also crucial was Senator Edward Kennedy's active lobbying with the State Department on behalf of stepped-up relief measures.

Greater Pressure. While U.S. officials insist that offer of the planes does not constitute a major change in policy, the move seems certain to increase U.S. pressure on the warring sides for a peaceful settlement. It will also be a spur to other nations to contribute more relief and reduce arms shipments to Nigeria and Biafra. The new U.S. initiative is based on the projection that, if mass famine is to be averted, Biafra should be receiving 40,000 to 50,000 tons of food a month. Only an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons now reach the territory via a clandestine nighttime airlift sponsored by relief organizations.

The new famine threat--unlike kwashiorkor, the debilitating protein deficiency that threatened Biafra earlier this year--stems from a shortage of carbohydrate staples such as yams. The Biafran government is attempting to prevent the worst by urging farmers to plant more rice, but the outlook is grim. "The stocks will be gone by January," says an aide to Lieut. Colonel Odu-megwu Ojukwu, Biafra's leader. "There is nothing to plant and nothing to eat in the lean months from May to September. Nor will there be a harvest next September."

Nor does there seem to be an end in sight to the war. Ojukwu declared an eight-day Christmas truce, and the federal government in Lagos countered with a one-day holiday ceasefire. The much heralded final push by the federals has yet to come; although harassed by stepped-up bombing raids, the Biafrans, with a ready supply of French arms, have consolidated their military position to the point where the war is virtually stalemated.

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