President George W. Bush announced on 29 December 2004 that the United States, Australia, Japan, and India would form a coordinating group for international relief after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 80,000 people. Secretary of State Colin Powell had already contacted his counterparts in the three partner nations, and Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman was named to head the US task force.
Bush had spoken by phone with leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia to offer condolences and signal US support for their governments' response.
The president pushed back against remarks by UN official Jan Egeland, who had suggested wealthy nations were stingy with aid. Bush called the characterization "misguided and ill-informed," citing $2.4 billion in US humanitarian spending in 2004, which he said amounted to 40 percent of total global relief that year. Egeland later clarified that his remarks had been misinterpreted.
Washington committed $35 million in immediate tsunami aid and dispatched military transport aircraft to affected areas; an aircraft carrier and helicopter carrier were en route from Asian bases.
Bush also called for an international tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean, noting the Pacific had one but the affected region lacked comparable infrastructure. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga had raised the need for such a system with him directly.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in December 2004, in its own words.