Is there a factual answer to this? Why must humanitarian aid be brought into the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, which is mined and might or might not be secure? Why can’t the aid be brought into ports in Kuwait, which is at least relatively secure? For that matter, why didn’t the army bring relief packages with it to distribute as it moved through, much in the same way that it brought fuel trucks and so forth? Is it that the Kuwaitis are not allowing it or what?
The relief packages carried by the military would be tiny compared to the need. Basrah has about 1.4 million residents, and we have MAYBE 200,000 troops in Iraq. If every soldier, sailor, and Marine carried food and water for themselves and another person for 5 days, it would double their load, and feed only one in seven people in Basrah for five days. Humanitarian logistics of this scale is about as massive as the logistics for the military. Likewise the Kuwait ports are most likely clogged with miltary to-and-fro shipments, and they figured it best to dedicate a fresh facility for the influx of aid material, rather than make decisions to delay food and aid, or delay warfare material based on dockspace.
Anyway, the port of Umm Qasr is now officially safe.
If you look at the map it is obvious that Umm Qasr is the best place to unload ships carrying relief supplies for all of Iraq. Maybe it would have been too much trouble to start in Kuwait City and then move everything over to Umm Qasr. You know bureaucracy has a hard time adjusting to change. 
[sup]companion map of Kuwait[/sup]
A partial reason for the problem was that we expected to ship the relief packages across Turkey, reserving the port of Kuwait for the military. The logistics to handle the off-loading and transportation had already been worked out when Turkey balked. The relief must now be re-routed through the Suez and up the Gulf, but when they get to Kuwait, they will find their way blocked by the military resupply ships that were already scheduled to be there. It is easier to simply establish new schedules for Umm Qasr than it is to reschedule everything that was already marked for Kuwait.
A partial reason for the problem was that we expected to ship the relief packages across Turkey, reserving the port of Kuwait for the military. The logistics to handle the off-loading and transportation had already been worked out when Turkey balked. The relief must now be re-routed through the Suez and up the Gulf, but when they get to Kuwait, they will find their way blocked by the military resupply ships that were already scheduled to be there. It is easier to simply establish new schedules for Umm Qasr than it is to reschedule everything that was already marked for Kuwait.
Silly MB! I only posted that once, and then it did not even show up when I came back to review it after the board seemed to drop.
You are forgiven. Go in peace. 
You read that the UN has been providing food for 60% (!) of the Iraqi population under Food-for-Oil.
That probably means there has been a big flow of food shipments incoming, via train/boat/whatever. What has happened to that flow? No doubt stopped, the borders sealed, the UN personnel pulled out due to the war conditions.
Will that restart now? Or will American shipments take the place of it? Or is it being lumped into “humanitarian aid” with American shipments added?
Two days ago the Security Council began discussing the issue and the early reports were that it was nice to see then members having a fruitful discussion for a change.
Currently, politics has intruded, again:
Muddled UN Negotiations on Oil, Food Plan for Iraq