Bush announces aid coalition

President Bush yesterday announced the formation of an international coalition to deal with the catastrophic effects from the deadly tsunami that swept across South Asia and rebuked a senior United Nations official for calling the United States “stingy.”

“The person who made that statement was very misguided and ill-informed,” Mr. Bush said in his first public remarks on Sunday’s underwater earthquake and subsequent tsunami that has killed about 77,000 people. “No, we’re a very generous, kind-hearted nation.”

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has contacted officials in various Asian nations to form a coalition to provide both immediate humanitarian relief and long-term reconstruction.

“Based on these discussions, we’ve established a regional core group with India, Japan and Australia to help coordinate relief efforts,” the president said. “I’m confident more nations will join this core group in short order.”

Yesterday, Mr. Bush called the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia to assure them that an initial U.S. aid package of $35 million “is only the beginning of our help.”

Other nations also have pledged financial support. Japan will give $30 million; Great Britain, Germany and Australia have pledged between $27 million to $29 million each; and France has said it will contribute $20.5 million.

“These past few days have brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension,” Mr. Bush told reporters at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. “We are committed to helping the affected countries in the difficult weeks and months that lie ahead.”

Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, will lead a U.S. task force to coordinate the U.S. response and urge other nations to help provide relief. In a 40-minute conference call last night, he spoke with senior Japanese, Australian and Indian officials on coordinating all parties’ aid efforts to avoid duplication.

The president’s emphasis on the United States’ generosity was aimed at countering suggestions Monday by Jan Egeland, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, that the United States and other Western countries were “stingy.”

Mr. Egeland has been backpedaling from those remarks since coming under fire from Mr. Powell on Tuesday.

“I obviously did a mistake,” the Norwegian-born diplomat acknowledged yesterday.

Still, Mr. Egeland’s original remarks continued to rankle U.S. officials yesterday. Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), defended America’s generosity.

“In terms of our level of contribution, there’s been a little controversy over it,” Mr. Natsios told reporters at the State Department. “We are by far the largest donor — no one even comes close to us — and have been for a long time.

“The president actually has increased assistance in food aid and disaster relief while I’ve been administrator in his first term,” he added. “So, we have been generous.”

Mr. Bush pointed out that the initial package of $35 million in aid does not reflect the cost of sending U.S. military assets to the scene of the disaster.

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