Bush sees tsunami aid as boon for U.S. image

Bush sees tsunami aid as boon for U.S. image

Agencies, Washington

President George W. Bush said in remarks released on Thursday
(Friday in Jakarta) that U.S. aid to tsunami victims will help
defeat extremists who have convinced Muslims around the world
that the United States is the enemy.

In excerpts of an exclusive interview to be broadcast on
Friday, Bush also painted a bleak picture of Washington's
aggressive global efforts to win over Islamic audiences after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Our public diplomacy efforts ... aren't very robust, and
aren't very good, compared to the public diplomacy efforts of
those who would like to spread hatred and ... and vilify the
United States," he told ABC television.

"But in ... responding to the tsunami many in the Muslim world
have seen a great compassion in the American people. Our troops
are providing incredibly good service," said the president.

The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis have left an estimated
163,000 dead in the Indian Ocean region, with Indonesia -- the
world's most populous Muslim nation -- especially hard hit.

"We are saving lives, and flying supplies," to needy areas,
said Bush. "I guess is the best way to say it, people are seeing
the concrete actions of a compassionate country."

Earlier, after attending a briefing at the Pentagon on relief
efforts in the wake of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and
tsunamis, Bush said US military aid had already paid off.

"There's a lot of talk about how some in the world don't
appreciate America. Well, I can assure you that those who have
been helped by our military appreciate America," he said.

"Our military is making a significant difference in providing
relief and aid and help and compassion for those who have
suffered," the president said, with Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld at his side.

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, meanwhile, on
Thursday played down Indonesia's call for foreign forces helping
with tsunami relief efforts to leave Aceh province by the end of
March and said U.S. troops had been made welcome.

"The Indonesians have welcomed us with open arms and all of
the kinds of concerns about sovereignty and mistrust of foreign
militaries ... have been put aside in the wake of this disaster
to a degree that, frankly, old Indonesian hands are surprised,"
said Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Indonesia.

Speaking to reporters traveling with him to tsunami-hit areas
in Asia, Wolfowitz said he expected the U.S. military to have
finished helping victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami before the end of
March.

"It would certainly be our expectation -- our hope -- that we
wouldn't be needed as a military in Indonesia (by the end of
March)," Wolfowitz said.

Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on Wednesday for
foreign troops helping with relief efforts to leave the stricken
area of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, by the end
of March.

Since then, Indonesian officials have sought to retract
Kalla's statement and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said
on Thursday that no deadline had been set.

Wolfowitz said he understood that it was difficult for any
country to have foreign troops on its soil.

"It would be sensitive in the United States, and I can tell
you that it is extremely sensitive in Indonesia," he said.

A senior U.S. defense official traveling with Wolfowitz said
that the U.S. military mission could be over within weeks and
that the United States could be involved in projects such as air
traffic control and engineering after the military phase.

Just over 15,000 U.S. Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force and Coast
Guard are helping tsunami-affected countries. Most are stationed
in vessels offshore.

Indonesia was worst hit by the earthquake off its western tip
and subsequent tsunami. At least 110,000 died there and many
thousands remain missing.

Wolfowitz is set to visit Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka to
see U.S. troops at work and to pass on his condolences to the
governments.

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