U.S. agrees to work under UN, disbands 'core group'

U.S. agrees to work under UN, disbands 'core group'

Peter Mackler, Agence France-Presse/Jakarta

The United States announced on Thursday it was dissolving the "core group" of nations it formed to expedite aid for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster and would work under the United Nations.

Secretary of State Colin Powell also told an international conference the United States would likely increase its commitment of aid but announced no new figure beyond the current $350 million pledge.

Powell moved to end any lingering confusion from the U.S. move last week to form a core group with India, Japan and Australia to expedite relief efforts after the mammoth earthquake and tsunamis that killed some 150,000 people.

"The core group helped to catalyze the international response," he said in prepared remarks. "Now having served its purpose, it will now fold itself into the broader coordination efforts of the United Nations."

President George W. Bush's administration had taken the initiative after early criticism that it was slow to react to the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis that hit 11 Indian Ocean countries.

Some saw the four-nation group, later joined by Canada and the Netherlands, as overlapping or competing with the United Nations, which traditionally has taken the lead in coordinating international responses to disasters.

After a high-level video conference between U.S. and UN officials last Thursday, Washington acknowledged the umbrella role of the world body and said its own initiatives were "complementary."

Powell, who is on a three-nation tour of tsunami damage and relief operations along with Bush's brother Jeb, did not elaborate on the reasons for disbanding the group.

"We recognize that the governments of the affected nations have the primary role in rebuilding their countries," said the chief U.S. diplomat, who is due to step down in the coming weeks.

"But in the face of a disaster of this immensity, international help and cooperation is crucial. The United States welcomes the coordinating role of the United Nations."

He said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "can count on our full support. We look forward to participating in the UN Donors Conference in Geneva on Jan. 11."

Leaders of the countries worst affected by the catastrophe, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, had pressed at the Jakarta conference for UN leadership of the reconstruction drive.

Hatsuhisa Takashima, spokesman for Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, said that in the face of such pressure, "the role of the so-called core group is expected to be transferred to the United Nations."

In Washington, a senior State Department official said the intention had always been for the core group to coordinate emergency aid work only in the immediate aftermath of the tsunamis.

Speculation had mounted before the conference whether the United States would raise its $350 million aid commitment after moves by Australia to boost its pledge to $764 million and Germany to over $600 million.

"In all likelihood our contribution will be revised upward as the full effects of this massive tragedy can be better assessed," Powell told the afflicted nations.

"President Bush wants you to know that you will have the full support of the United States as you go through the process of relief, recovery, and reconstruction," he said.

But Powell announced no new figure for U.S. aid. He and other U.S. officials have said that only $40 million of the $350 million pledged had actually been allocated and the challenge was now to expedite delivery of relief goods.

The U.S. secretary of state told the conference that some $200 million in private donations had been raised in the United States and he stressed the massive relief operation mounted by the U.S. military.

He said more than 14,000 military personnel were dispatched to the region, along with a carrier group, an amphibious group, helicopters, supply and patrol planes and ships able to supply tens of thousands of gallons of fresh water.