Because we’re there

The United States is accused of not doing enough about in terms of earthquake relief:

“Every move of the United States is judged here on political grounds. It was a rare opportunity for the United States to show that it’s a true friend of Pakistan,” said Mr Rais.
It is not likely to have escaped Washington’s notice that its response to this latest disaster could be key in improving perceptions of the United States in Pakistan, an Islamic nation where many harbour deep resentment over the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq war. In the wake of the tsunami, the US military was given a warm reception in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Following the article, aid donors are listed, and it doesn’t appear that the United States is really all that much of a piker:

Britain: ?1m
United States: ?50m plus helicopters
European Union: ?3.6m plus aid workers on the ground
United Nations: $100,000
Kuwait: $100m
South Korea: $3m
Malaysia: $1m
Australia: $4.2m
Sri Lanka: $100,000

How much is not enough and how much is too much?
According to this report, the U.S. gave $350 million for tsunami relief — following the disaster that killed 120,000. So based on the number of deaths, the amount of aid would seem at least close to being proportionately correct.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a relationship between the amount of money given to charity and the amount of love we get in return, though.
(I suppose it puts the U.S. in a better moral position to ask questions like “Why do they hate us?”)