U.S. Uses Its Muscle To Help
From airlifts of rice and water purifiers to the deployment of Marine humanitarian assistance teams, the United States has 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.
A Thai navy air base used by American B52 bombers during the Vietnam War is turning into the hub for a U.S. military-led relief effort that is stretching around the devastated shores of the Indian Ocean.
The United States is focusing on providing clean water and basic sanitation in South Asian areas hit by an earthquake and tsunamis, to try to prevent illness and more deaths among survivors, officials said.
"Our efforts are focused, with the rest of the international community, on water and sanitation, because that is the greatest risk to people's lives," said Andrew Natsios, chief of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which distributes foreign aid.
The U.S. military is also lending its muscle. Lt. Col. Scott Elder in Thailand said there would likely be up to 1,000 U.S. military personnel arriving in the next week.
Water and sewage systems were inundated by the enormous surge of water that hit coastal areas on Sunday, washing out roads and leaving millions homeless and untold numbers dead.
"People are drinking sewage water," Natsios said at a State Department briefing. "That will substantially increase the risk of communicable disease and diarrheal disease, which could kill many people in epidemics, if they get out of control."
President Bush assembled a four-nation coalition to organize humanitarian relief, and promised that the United States would help bankroll long-term rebuilding.
"It's just beyond our comprehension to think about how many lives have been lost," Mr. Bush said after emerging from a holiday vacation at his Texas ranch to make his first comments on the disaster.
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. He participated in a 40-minute conference call Wednesday night with senior Japanese, Australian and Indian officials.
State Department spokesman Noel Clay said they agreed to try to avoid duplicating efforts, by each other and the United Nations, to help the victims.
Mr. 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.
Both the president and officials in Washington touted 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.
Already this week, American planes have delivered 1,400 body bags to southern Thai islands. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier strike group, which was in Hong Kong, has been diverted to the Gulf of Thailand for the humanitarian relief operations.
Five ships from the group may be deployed off Sumatra, the worst hit area, joint chiefs of staff Lt. Gen. James T. Conway told a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
Nine P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft, including some based at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan, have also been deployed in support of search and rescue operations in the area, he said.
Six C-130 Cargo planes based out of Japan will also be diverted to Thailand to join in the operation, according to an Air Force statement.
"As soon as we received word that the earthquake victims needed our help, we immediately activated forces to provide assistance," said Col. Mark Schissler, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, just outside Tokyo.