"Would you feel as much anguish when a family 
perishes halfway across the globe due to famine, 
or if everyone in your own family was killed by a 
terrorist bomb?"

No, of course we care about the people closest to 
ourselves. Does it mean that I shouldn't care at 
all about people half way across the globe -- of 
course not. Darwin used to believe that people 
wouldn't be fully evolved until we learned 
compassion for all living beings on earth. We're 
getting there, slowly but surely -- afterall it 
used to fashionable to see non-Europeans as 
subhumans, now the same cannot be said.    

As for self-interest:

"When researchers pose the rheotorical 
question, 'Would you experiment on a chimpanzee 
if it would save the life of your child?' most 
parents answered yes. We are encouraged to choose 
between them or us, and so we naturally choose 
us. But as a society we routinely and rightfully 
set moral interest. For example, let's say my 
daught has heart disease and can only be saved by 
a transplant of my neighbour's heart, and if the 
choice is between my neighbour and my daughter, I 
will choose my daughter every time. But society 
won't let me take my neighbour's heart because 
beneath our differences, my neighbour and I are 
very similar." 
- Roger Fouts
Next of Kin

"Ideals, civilities, and generalities are fine 
for people who play by the same rules. 
Unfortunately, it is seldom the case and even 
less so for international politics and behavior."

Ah but people do play by the same rules. One 
concept present in all major religions -- from 
Confucism to Unitarians, is that you should treat 
others as you would like to be treated. People 
get upset when this is violated -- isn't this the 
reason Afghanistan's being bombed right now? Of 
course Bin Ladin started his terrorist acts 
because he thinks America has been abusing the 
Middle East. (Whether or not he's right is an 
entirely different story.)It's funny how both 
sides in this conflict are being motivated by the 
same reasons.