Bush sees tsunami aid as boon for U.S. image<\/p>\n
Agencies, Washington<\/p>\n
President George W. Bush said in remarks released on Thursday
\n(Friday in Jakarta) that U.S. aid to tsunami victims will help
\ndefeat extremists who have convinced Muslims around the world
\nthat the United States is the enemy.<\/p>\n
In excerpts of an exclusive interview to be broadcast on
\nFriday, Bush also painted a bleak picture of Washington's
\naggressive global efforts to win over Islamic audiences after the
\nSept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
\"Our public diplomacy efforts ... aren't very robust, and
\naren't very good, compared to the public diplomacy efforts of
\nthose who would like to spread hatred and ... and vilify the
\nUnited States,\" he told ABC television.<\/p>\n
\"But in ... responding to the tsunami many in the Muslim world
\nhave seen a great compassion in the American people. Our troops
\nare providing incredibly good service,\" said the president.<\/p>\n
The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis have left an estimated
\n163,000 dead in the Indian Ocean region, with Indonesia -- the
\nworld's most populous Muslim nation -- especially hard hit.<\/p>\n
\"We are saving lives, and flying supplies,\" to needy areas,
\nsaid Bush. \"I guess is the best way to say it, people are seeing
\nthe concrete actions of a compassionate country.\"<\/p>\n
Earlier, after attending a briefing at the Pentagon on relief
\nefforts in the wake of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and
\ntsunamis, Bush said US military aid had already paid off.<\/p>\n
\"There's a lot of talk about how some in the world don't
\nappreciate America. Well, I can assure you that those who have
\nbeen helped by our military appreciate America,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Our military is making a significant difference in providing
\nrelief and aid and help and compassion for those who have
\nsuffered,\" the president said, with Defense Secretary Donald
\nRumsfeld at his side.<\/p>\n
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, meanwhile, on
\nThursday played down Indonesia's call for foreign forces helping
\nwith tsunami relief efforts to leave Aceh province by the end of
\nMarch and said U.S. troops had been made welcome.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesians have welcomed us with open arms and all of
\nthe kinds of concerns about sovereignty and mistrust of foreign
\nmilitaries ... have been put aside in the wake of this disaster
\nto a degree that, frankly, old Indonesian hands are surprised,\"
\nsaid Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters traveling with him to tsunami-hit areas
\nin Asia, Wolfowitz said he expected the U.S. military to have
\nfinished helping victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami before the end of
\nMarch.<\/p>\n
\"It would certainly be our expectation -- our hope -- that we
\nwouldn't be needed as a military in Indonesia (by the end of
\nMarch),\" Wolfowitz said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on Wednesday for
\nforeign troops helping with relief efforts to leave the stricken
\narea of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, by the end
\nof March.<\/p>\n
Since then, Indonesian officials have sought to retract
\nKalla's statement and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said
\non Thursday that no deadline had been set.<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz said he understood that it was difficult for any
\ncountry to have foreign troops on its soil.<\/p>\n
\"It would be sensitive in the United States, and I can tell
\nyou that it is extremely sensitive in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A senior U.S. defense official traveling with Wolfowitz said
\nthat the U.S. military mission could be over within weeks and
\nthat the United States could be involved in projects such as air
\ntraffic control and engineering after the military phase.<\/p>\n
Just over 15,000 U.S. Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force and Coast
\nGuard are helping tsunami-affected countries. Most are stationed
\nin vessels offshore.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was worst hit by the earthquake off its western tip
\nand subsequent tsunami. At least 110,000 died there and many
\nthousands remain missing.<\/p>\n
Wolfowitz is set to visit Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka to
\nsee U.S. troops at work and to pass on his condolences to the
\ngovernments.<\/p>\n
Military ban -- Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bush-sees-tsunami-aid-as-boon-for-us-image-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }