 Rear Adm. William Crowder, commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln, dismissed fears that the U.S. military is ending its relief effort for tsunami victims too soon, as a U.N. agency delivered aid on its own for the first time Sunday - a sign of civilian groups preparing to fill the gap as militaries pull out. On Sunday, a 400-ton landing vessel carrying World Food Program aid was due to arrive in Sumatra's coastal Calang city, said program spokesman Gerald Bourke _ the first time the U.N. agency has used its own ship to deliver aid in the disaster. |