Washington ? The Obama administration is stepping up emergency relief for victims of Pakistan’s devastating floods, hoping a highly visible dose of goodwill will soften anti-American attitudes in a country seen as vital to defeating al-Qaida.

This comes at the same time a congressman who played a key role in revising the war strategy in Iraq in 2006 on Wednesday proposed an independent review of U.S. strategy and goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

These separate efforts reflect growing concern about the lack of apparent progress in the nearly nine-year conflict in Afghanistan that has cost more than $297 billion and the lives of more than 1,100 U.S. troops.

Along with NATO, Pakistan is the key partner of the U.S. in the Afghan conflict. A Pew Foundation poll released last week that found nearly six in 10 Pakistanis view the United States as an enemy and only one in 10 call it a partner. Nearly two-thirds said they want American troops out of Afghanistan.

U.S. officials believe a major humanitarian response to a deadly 2005 earthquake in Pakistan boosted the U.S. image there, at least temporarily.

With the earlier experience in mind, the administration is trumpeting its contributions in the wake of the worst flooding in Pakistan in many years. Floodwaters have killed more than 1,500 people.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared Wednesday before the media to express America’s sympathy for the dead and displaced.

The U.S. government is rushing in helicopters to help with search-and-rescue efforts, she said, and is providing emergency medical assistance, ready-made meals and fresh water.

“We’ve been working hard over the past year to build a partnership with the people of Pakistan, and this is an essential element of partnership reaching out and helping each other in times of need,” she said.

Although the U.S. has given billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan since the 9/11 attacks, as part of a campaign to hunt down Osama bin Laden and destroy his al-Qaida network, the Pew poll revealed that many Pakistanis don’t realize it.