久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Bush promises long-term help for Asia
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-30 11:24

US President Bush assembled a four-nation coalition to organize humanitarian relief for Asia and made clear Wednesday the United States will help bankroll long-term rebuilding in the region leveled by a massive earthquake and tsunamis.

U.S. officials braced for the death toll to exceed 100,000.

"It's just beyond our comprehension to think about how many lives have been lost," Bush said after emerging from a holiday vacation at his Texas ranch to make his first comments on the four-day-old disaster.

U.S. embassy officials continued to hunt for 2,000 to 3,000 Americans who remain unaccounted for, and asked travelers to check in with families and U.S. diplomatic posts. At least 12 Americans are known dead from Sunday's quake and subsequent tsunamis that struck a dozen countries from Thailand to Somalia.

US President Bush makes a statement from his Crawford, Texas ranch, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004. Bush said Wednesday the United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and tsunamis. [AP]
US President Bush makes a statement from his Crawford, Texas ranch, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004. Bush said Wednesday the United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and tsunamis. [AP]
From airlifts of rice and water purifiers to the deployment of an entire Marine expeditionary force, the United States marshaled resources across the globe to augment its initial $35 million aid package and make sure the hardest hit locations got the short-term help they requested.

Bush said he phoned the leaders of stricken countries to solicit specific needs and assure them the initial aid package "is only the beginning of our help." He also laid the foundation for a long-term international recovery plan by forming the coalition with Japan, Australia and India and inviting other nations to join.

"We will prevail over this destruction," Bush promised.

Eventually, Secretary of State Colin Powell told BBC, "this core will expand and the entire international community will be involved to include the European Union" and take up such issues as debt relief for hard-hit countries.

Both the president and officials back in Washington made high-profile efforts to tout the breadth of U.S. aid, ticking off figures they hoped would rebut comments by a U.N. official and others suggesting that the United States had been stingy or slow to react.

The president called the U.N. official's comments Monday "very misguided and ill informed." His State Department spokesman was more blunt: "We don't have anything to apologize for," Richard Boucher said.

During his holiday vacation at his ranch where he was riding his bike and clearing brush, Bush offered condolences to those half-a-globe away struck by the unprecedented death and destruction.

"I know that our fellow citizens are particularly troubled to learn that many of the deaths were young children, and we grieve for their families, their moms and dads who are just, you know, heartsick," he said.

While the death toll stood at more than 75,000 Wednesday, U.S. officials feared it would top six figures as rescue forces get to hard-to-reach locations and the initial shock gives way to disease, hunger and thirst.

"I think it's going to be well over 100,000," said Andrew Natsios, the chief of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which distributes foreign aid.

Natsios' agency was particularly focused on clean water, sanitation and disease, which pose the next threats to ravaged areas.

Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state, will lead a U.S. task force to coordinate the American response and urge other nations to assist in relief efforts. A late night conference call was scheduled to link officials in the four capitals.

Bush said he was open to other ideas, including a suggestion from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for a moratorium on the debt of hard-hit Somalia and Indonesia.

Members of Congress already began sizing up where the next U.S. disaster funds will come from in a budget already stretched by the war on terror and Iraq (news - web sites). "I would recommend rescinding some of the many billions of dollars for Iraq, which remain unspent, in order to help finance the relief operations in South Asia," offered Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., a frequent Bush critic.

The administration has spent little of the $18.4 billion approved by Congress last year for Iraq reconstruction. It says spending has been slowed by security problems.

In Washington, Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Operations Lt. Gen. James T. Conway announced new military deployments intended to survey damage and help with recovery. Three military scouting teams began arriving Wednesday in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, Conway said.

The Pentagon has committed six C-130 cargo planes and nine P-3 reconnaissance planes, and diverted warships from Hong Kong and Guam. The ships, some of which will take a week or more to reach the region, carry helicopters, a field hospital and water purification equipment, Conway said.

Bush urged Americans to send cash, not blankets, food or used clothing. "To me it makes more sense to send cash to organizations that could then use that cash to make sure we match resources with specific needs on the ground," he said.

The president also expressed concern that 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.

Closer to home, he asked Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Interior Secretary Gale Norton to investigate whether the United States is adequately prepared for tsunamis that might strike U.S. coasts.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Asian tsunami toll jumps to over 125,000, fear lingers

 

   
 

3rd Chinese confirmed dead; aid rushing in

 

   
 

Farming trade deficit hits record

 

   
 

China rings alarm over possible flu pandemic

 

   
 

Yao Ming tops NBA All-Star voting

 

   
 

Fishing fleet cutback preserves resources

 

   
  Asian tsunami toll jumps to over 125,000, fear lingers
   
  Plans unveiled to protect Iraqi voters
   
  Israeli troops kill 9 Palestinians in Gaza raid
   
  FBI probes laser beams in plane cockpits
   
  Sharon, Peres reach deal on Israel unity government
   
  Militant groups warn Iraqis not to vote
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
5 million in need of food, toll nears 80,000
   
Quake and tsunami toll may top 100,000
   
Expert: More aftershocks but no killer quake
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 91精品宅男在线观看 | 国产成人精品无缓存在线播放 | 欧美精品99久久久久久人 | 国产亚洲精品久久久久久久网站 | 欧美精品人爱a欧美精品 | 国产成人www免费人成看片 | 国产亚洲欧美另类久久久 | 成人网18免费软件大全 | 久久久一区二区三区 | 毛片网站观看 | 久草在线色站 | 中文字幕欧美亚洲 | 国产精品线在线精品 | 国产精品女上位在线观看 | 欧美一级片在线观看 | 午夜一级毛片不卡 | 欧美日韩在线观看免费 | 日本私人色多多 | 成人18视频在线 | 黄色网址亚洲 | 欧美性久久久久 | 精品免费久久久久欧美亚一区 | 久久久精品国产 | 亚洲国产成人久久综合碰 | japanese色系tube护士 | 国产高清美女一级a毛片久久 | 免费成人高清视频 | 亚洲一区二区三区久久 | 欧美a在线 | av在线天堂网 | 国产一级一片免费播放i | 男人av的天堂 | 美国aaaa一级毛片啊 | 91国在线观看 | 国产成人在线网址 | 成年人在线看片 | 韩国自拍偷自拍亚洲精品 | 欧美一级毛片激情 | 中国一级做a爰片久久毛片 中日韩欧美一级毛片 | 日本免费毛片在线高清看 | 日韩欧美中文字幕在线观看 |