The White House today announced a $110 milllion aid package for Pakistan's civilians, who are fleeing fighting between the Taliban and the Pakistan army -- all 1.5 million of them.

It's a sizable pledge, given all of the political purse strings tugging at the U.S. Congress and President Obama's administration.

And it's about time, according to some NGOs and regional press.

By the end of the day, World Vision, one of the largest recipients of US government funding among Christian aid organizations, called the pledge a nice "first step", even though it estimated as many as 85 percent of those displaced were holing up with family or friends.

You should know the story by now. The Pakistani government gave Taliban leaders control over an area called Swat Valley, saying it was a peace offering. Western governments resoundly criticized the move as legitimizing a terrorist, extremist, group of bad guys. And they said Pakistan still missd the boat on on this whole Af-Pak, entire region at threat, terrorism thing, since it kept most of the Pakistani army focused on its traditional mortal enemy, India.

Soon, human rights groups reported the extremist crackdown inside the S.V. had led to public beatings of teenaged girls and forced head shavings of young men. Then, the Taliban got bold and pushed out beyond its borders to within 60 miles of Pakistan.

Enough was enough. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton essentially called out Pakistan to take serious action against the Taliban, what she called an "existential" threat. Quickly, U.S. military leaders, including Secretary Gates, backed her comments.

So when the Pakistani army finally began to fight back, it warned civilians to flee the area. As of today, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimated 1.45 million "internally displacd persons" - the correct term for refugees still within their own country.

Regional press placed much of the blame for the humanitarian crisis squarely on American shoulders, and called for international help.

The U.S tune changed sharply when Pakistani Preisdent Asif Ali Zardari came to the White House for a trilateral summit with Obama and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai.

But as of the middle of last week, Pentagon spokseman Bryan Whitman told reporters that the US military had made no plans to help with the civilian crisis, and the State Department had no word of a Pakistani request for U.S. aid.

This morning, at the White House, Clinton cited that summit as a turning point, and once again credited the Pakistani military response.

"What the Pakistanis are doing now deserves our full support," Clinton said. "They're doing it, and we're encouraging them to do it because we think it's in their interests. But we also believe it's in the interests of our long-term struggle against extremism and, in particular, the Al Qaeda network."

The Pentagon is responsible for just $10 million of the aid, which will come via C-17 drops of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), tents, and other items. The largest single portion of the main $100 million will go as food aid, to purchase wheat.

Today, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell also would not criticize the Pakistani government for calling for civilians to run for the hills.

"This is what we have been pressing for and encouraging for months now. And now they are in the midst of what arguably is the largest military operation ever undertaken by the Pakistani military, and they have shown a persistence in waging it, and we want to be nothing but encouraging of them continuing to do so," he said.

In the meantime, look for the topic of the military's growing involvement in humanitarian and development aid -- and the small size of the U.S. presence inside of Pakistan, so close to a massive U.S. force in Afghanistan -- to come up in Washington later this week.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hears from the chairman of Joint Cheifs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and Secretary Clinton, while committee chairman, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., gives a major speech on the future of U.S. development and humanitarian aid on Thursday at the Brookings Institution.

With the nation's top military leaders constantly beating the drum for more civilian development and humanitarian resources to compliment the Pentagon's share of ending the wars downrange, it could be an interesting week.