Bush Announces Coalition to Aid Asia
``We will prevail over this destruction,'' Bush said from his ranch in his first comments on the disaster Sunday that so far has killed more than 76,000.
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Bush said the catastrophe had ``brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension,'' and he pledged a multifaceted response from the United States that goes far beyond the $35 million initially pledged.
In the short term, the help will include damage assessment teams and U.S. military manpower, such as a Marine expeditionary force followed by long-term rebuilding assistance. He said he'd also examine a suggestion from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to consider putting a moratorium on the debt of hard-hit Somalia and Indonesia.
``We'll look at all requests,'' said Bush, who talked by phone Wednesday morning with leaders from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.
``We're still in the stage of immediate help. But slowly but surely, the size of the problem will become known, particularly when it comes to rebuilding infrastructure and community to help these affected parts of the world get back up on their feet.''
Meantime, the International Monetary Fund said it would work with governments affected by the disaster to provide reconstruction and financial assistance. But details have not been worked out, with governments more focused now on dealing with the immediate humanitarian crisis, officials of the financial institution said.
'The World Will Cope'
The president called on Americans to donate cash to relief organizations to augment the response and said he expected several other nations to join the coalition started by the four countries.
``The United States will continue to stand with the affected governments as they care for the victims,'' he said. ``We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their communities. And together the world will cope with their loss.''
Bush said he talked to the leaders in the affected region and was working to target initial relief efforts to the things those leaders most need, pending damage assessments.
Worldwide Warning
He expressed concern the Asian region wasn't prepared with a warning system that foretold the massive tsunamis and threw his support behind creation of a worldwide system. ``It makes sense for the world to come together to develop a warning system to help all nations,'' he said.
The president also has asked Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Interior Secretary Gale Norton to investigate whether the United States was adequately prepared for tsunamis that might strike the U.S. coast. The U.S. Geological Survey at Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Commerce are the two agencies addressing that issue.
'Ill-Informed' U.N. Bureaucrat
The president also pointedly dismissed a United Nation official's suggestion that rich nations such as the United States have been ``stingy'' in relief efforts. ``I felt like the person who made that statement was very misguided and ill informed,'' Bush said.
U.S. Agency for International Development chief Andrew Natsios told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the $35 million aid package had drained his organization's emergency relief fund, forcing it to ask Congress or the White House for more money.
``We just spent it,'' Natsios said. ``We'll be talking to the [White House] budget office.''
At Least 12 Americans Dead, Hundreds Missing
The State Department said Tuesday that 12 Americans had died in the disaster: seven in Sri Lanka and five in Thailand. Hundreds of Americans remain missing.
Bush said U.S. officials were working hard to locate many more Americans who remain unaccounted for and to provide assistance to those who were injured or displaced in the region.
``Our prayers go out to those who have lost so much to this series of disasters,'' he said.
The State Department, meanwhile, encouraged all American citizens traveling in any part of the countries hit by the earthquake to telephone family members to let them know they were doing. If the travelers need help they should get in touch with U.S. diplomatic posts, the department said in a statement.
NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004
CRAWFORD, Texas – President Bush announced Wednesday the United States, India, Australia and Japan had formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and tsunamis. Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004
``We will prevail over this destruction,'' Bush said from his ranch in his first comments on the disaster Sunday that so far has killed more than 76,000.
[font=arial,helvetica]Story Continues Below[/font]
In the short term, the help will include damage assessment teams and U.S. military manpower, such as a Marine expeditionary force followed by long-term rebuilding assistance. He said he'd also examine a suggestion from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to consider putting a moratorium on the debt of hard-hit Somalia and Indonesia.
``We'll look at all requests,'' said Bush, who talked by phone Wednesday morning with leaders from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.
``We're still in the stage of immediate help. But slowly but surely, the size of the problem will become known, particularly when it comes to rebuilding infrastructure and community to help these affected parts of the world get back up on their feet.''
Meantime, the International Monetary Fund said it would work with governments affected by the disaster to provide reconstruction and financial assistance. But details have not been worked out, with governments more focused now on dealing with the immediate humanitarian crisis, officials of the financial institution said.
'The World Will Cope'
The president called on Americans to donate cash to relief organizations to augment the response and said he expected several other nations to join the coalition started by the four countries.
``The United States will continue to stand with the affected governments as they care for the victims,'' he said. ``We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their communities. And together the world will cope with their loss.''
Bush said he talked to the leaders in the affected region and was working to target initial relief efforts to the things those leaders most need, pending damage assessments.
Worldwide Warning
He expressed concern the Asian region wasn't prepared with a warning system that foretold the massive tsunamis and threw his support behind creation of a worldwide system. ``It makes sense for the world to come together to develop a warning system to help all nations,'' he said.
The president also has asked Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Interior Secretary Gale Norton to investigate whether the United States was adequately prepared for tsunamis that might strike the U.S. coast. The U.S. Geological Survey at Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Commerce are the two agencies addressing that issue.
'Ill-Informed' U.N. Bureaucrat
The president also pointedly dismissed a United Nation official's suggestion that rich nations such as the United States have been ``stingy'' in relief efforts. ``I felt like the person who made that statement was very misguided and ill informed,'' Bush said.
U.S. Agency for International Development chief Andrew Natsios told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the $35 million aid package had drained his organization's emergency relief fund, forcing it to ask Congress or the White House for more money.
``We just spent it,'' Natsios said. ``We'll be talking to the [White House] budget office.''
At Least 12 Americans Dead, Hundreds Missing
The State Department said Tuesday that 12 Americans had died in the disaster: seven in Sri Lanka and five in Thailand. Hundreds of Americans remain missing.
Bush said U.S. officials were working hard to locate many more Americans who remain unaccounted for and to provide assistance to those who were injured or displaced in the region.
``Our prayers go out to those who have lost so much to this series of disasters,'' he said.
The State Department, meanwhile, encouraged all American citizens traveling in any part of the countries hit by the earthquake to telephone family members to let them know they were doing. If the travelers need help they should get in touch with U.S. diplomatic posts, the department said in a statement.
