New York Times
Jan 3 2005
Powell and Governor of Florida Arrive in Bangkok
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: January 3, 2005
ANGKOK, Jan. 3 – On a journey designed to assure nations devastated
by the tsunami of the United States’ support, Secretary of State
Colin L. Powell arrived here tonight accompanied by Gov. Jeb Bush of
Florida as the personal representative of his brother, President
Bush.
The four-day trip through the region is intended to quash any
lingering criticism of the administration’s initial reaction to the
tragedy. Critics called the reaction sluggish and said it threatened
to bungle an opportunity to win hearts and minds in Indonesia, the
world’s largest Muslim country and the one hit hardest by the
disaster, as well as in Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.
“The president wanted both of us to come out here to demonstrate U.S.
commitment to the nations of the region and to make an assessment as
well, to see what else we might need to do,” Mr. Powell said on board
the 19-hour flight from Washington to Bangkok.
Mr. Powell said the United States’ pledges of aid – increasing an
initial $15 million offer to $35 million and then to $350 million –
was a natural “scaling up” of aid as the number of victims and the
extent of the ruin became clear.
In Washington, President Bush announced that he had asked two former
presidents, his father and Bill Clinton, to head a nationwide
fund-raising effort. “Both men, both presidents know the great
decency of our people,” Mr. Bush said. “They bring tremendous
leadership experience to this role, and they bring good hearts.”
President Bush said his father and Mr. Clinton “will ask Americans to
donate directly to reliable charities already providing help to
tsunami victims.” The president went on to say that “cash donations
are most useful, and I’ve asked the former presidents to solicit
contributions both large and small.”
The president said the United States had made “an initial commitment”
of $350 million for disaster relief. “We’re working with the United
Nations and with governments around the world to coordinate the
comprehensive response,” he said.
For Mr. Powell, 67, the trip to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka
will be one of his last tours – perhaps the very last – as secretary
of state, and it provides a shift of focus from the war in Iraq and
the strain the war has put on relations with many countries in Europe
and the Muslim world. His term will end when his successor,
Condoleezza Rice, the current national security adviser, is
confirmed.
For Jeb Bush, 51, who is a possible contender for the presidency in
2008 or later, the trip is a first major turn on the international
stage when the eyes of millions of Americans are on the disaster.
Governor Bush, who oversaw Florida’s response to four hurricanes in
August and September, defended the administration’s approach to
tsunami relief and suggested that his presence on the trip would send
a powerful message of sympathy.
“I think family matters in a lot of places, just as it does in the
United States,” the governor said. He recalled in 1988 being asked by
his father to travel to Armenia, which had just been hit by an
earthquake that cost more than 25,000 lives.
“We went, and it made a big difference that a family member would go
– this was on Christmas Eve – go to a far-off place,” Mr. Bush said.
“These hardened Soviet Communists were crying as they saw my son hand
out medicine and toys to children that looked just like him in this
hospital that needed a whole lot of help.”
Explaining the administration’s series of rising pledges of aid, Mr.
Powell said he was alerted to the Dec. 26 tsunami “Sunday after
church” at a time when the number of dead seemed possibly as low as
10,000. He quickly contacted the region’s foreign ministers and
helped start a response from the U.S. Agency for International
Development and the American military. That effort has grown steadily
with the dimensions of the disaster, he said.
As of today, Mr. Powell said that while 15 Americans have been
confirmed dead, 4,000 to 5,000 remain officially unaccounted for,
since their relatives called State Department hotlines to report that
they were in the region and had not been heard from. He suggested
that most of those reported possibly missing probably are fine,
adding that diplomats are working to reduce that total by checking
with families.
Powell and Governor of Florida Arrive in Bangkok
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: January 3, 2005
ANGKOK, Jan. 3 – On a journey designed to assure nations devastated
by the tsunami of the United States’ support, Secretary of State
Colin L. Powell arrived here tonight accompanied by Gov. Jeb Bush of
Florida as the personal representative of his brother, President
Bush.
The four-day trip through the region is intended to quash any
lingering criticism of the administration’s initial reaction to the
tragedy. Critics called the reaction sluggish and said it threatened
to bungle an opportunity to win hearts and minds in Indonesia, the
world’s largest Muslim country and the one hit hardest by the
disaster, as well as in Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.
Advertisement
“The president wanted both of us to come out here to demonstrate U.S.
commitment to the nations of the region and to make an assessment as
well, to see what else we might need to do,” Mr. Powell said on board
the 19-hour flight from Washington to Bangkok.
Mr. Powell said the United States’ pledges of aid – increasing an
initial $15 million offer to $35 million and then to $350 million –
was a natural “scaling up” of aid as the number of victims and the
extent of the ruin became clear.
In Washington, President Bush announced that he had asked two former
presidents, his father and Bill Clinton, to head a nationwide
fund-raising effort. “Both men, both presidents know the great
decency of our people,” Mr. Bush said. “They bring tremendous
leadership experience to this role, and they bring good hearts.”
President Bush said his father and Mr. Clinton “will ask Americans to
donate directly to reliable charities already providing help to
tsunami victims.” The president went on to say that “cash donations
are most useful, and I’ve asked the former presidents to solicit
contributions both large and small.”
The president said the United States had made “an initial commitment”
of $350 million for disaster relief. “We’re working with the United
Nations and with governments around the world to coordinate the
comprehensive response,” he said.
For Mr. Powell, 67, the trip to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka
will be one of his last tours – perhaps the very last – as secretary
of state, and it provides a shift of focus from the war in Iraq and
the strain the war has put on relations with many countries in Europe
and the Muslim world. His term will end when his successor,
Condoleezza Rice, the current national security adviser, is
confirmed.
For Jeb Bush, 51, who is a possible contender for the presidency in
2008 or later, the trip is a first major turn on the international
stage when the eyes of millions of Americans are on the disaster.
Governor Bush, who oversaw Florida’s response to four hurricanes in
August and September, defended the administration’s approach to
tsunami relief and suggested that his presence on the trip would send
a powerful message of sympathy.
“I think family matters in a lot of places, just as it does in the
United States,” the governor said. He recalled in 1988 being asked by
his father to travel to Armenia, which had just been hit by an
earthquake that cost more than 25,000 lives.
“We went, and it made a big difference that a family member would go
– this was on Christmas Eve – go to a far-off place,” Mr. Bush said.
“These hardened Soviet Communists were crying as they saw my son hand
out medicine and toys to children that looked just like him in this
hospital that needed a whole lot of help.”
Explaining the administration’s series of rising pledges of aid, Mr.
Powell said he was alerted to the Dec. 26 tsunami “Sunday after
church” at a time when the number of dead seemed possibly as low as
10,000. He quickly contacted the region’s foreign ministers and
helped start a response from the U.S. Agency for International
Development and the American military. That effort has grown steadily
with the dimensions of the disaster, he said.
As of today, Mr. Powell said that while 15 Americans have been
confirmed dead, 4,000 to 5,000 remain officially unaccounted for,
since their relatives called State Department hotlines to report that
they were in the region and had not been heard from. He suggested
that most of those reported possibly missing probably are fine,
adding that diplomats are working to reduce that total by checking
with families.