Powell views devastation in Indonesia

Banda Aceh, Indonesia - Secretary of State Colin Powell flew over a muddy brown moonscape of hundreds flattened palm trees and shattered houses Wednesday after saying the U.S. effort to help tsunami victims shows American generosity and values in action. 

"I've been in war and I've been a diplomat but I've never seen anything like this," he said after a 30-minute helicopter tour.

Powell said he was particularly struck by the scene of utter devastation along the shoreline, where "the wave came ashore, pushing everything in its path."

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose state was hit by four hurricanes last year, appeared shaken at the sight and echoed Powell's amazement. "I've never seen anything like this in my experience," he said.

From an altitude of a few hundred feet, not a standing tree or building was visible along the coast. City block after city block had been swept clean. A large ship lay on its side, half submerged in water and mud.

Hills rising beyond the shore showed a stark high-water mark barren brown land scoured clean below and then a distinct line with verdant green growth above.

Before embarking on his early afternoon chopper tour, Powell said U.S. money and military assistance to countries where tens of thousands died in the tsunami may lessen anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world.

"I hope that as a result of our efforts, as a result of our helicopter pilots being seen by the citizens of Indonesia helping them, that value system of ours will be reinforced," Powell said.

The United States bankrolls humanitarian relief in part "because we believe it is in the best interest of those countries and it's in our best interest," Powell said. "It dries up those pools of dissatisfaction that might give rise to terrorist activity."

"It turns out that the majority of those nations affected were Muslim nations," Powell said. "We'd be doing it regardless of religion, but I think it does give the Muslim world and the rest of the world an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action."

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country with 238 million people, had the largest loss of life in the Dec. 26 disaster that struck 12 countries around the Indian Ocean. Indonesia is a fledgling democracy and an ally in the Bush administration's war on terrorism, but suspicion of Americans runs deep here.

Islamic militants are blamed for three large bombings in the past two years, including one that killed 12 in the Jakarta hotel where Powell's entourage is staying during a tour of tsunami damage.

Before touring the Banda Aceh coastal region, Powell and his delegation met with Indonesia's foreign minister and inspected American and international relief efforts in Phuket, where thousands died in shattered beach resorts popular with Western tourists.

Powell and the governor briefed President Bush by phone after the initial phase of their trip, informing him that the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Thailand appear to have a "strong capacity" to manage tsunami relief, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in Washington.

However, Powell told the president that the situation was much different in Indonesia.

Aceh and the western coast of the island of Sumatra took a double hit from the 9.0 undersea earthquake nearby and the huge tsunami it spawned.

The tsunami then spread for thousands of miles, hitting countries in South Asia and Africa. The death toll has reached about 140,000 and is expected to go higher.

Sixteen Americans are confirmed dead in Thailand and Sri Lanka, and an unknown number are missing. Although the State Department has a list of 4,000 or more Americans who are unaccounted for, officials do not believe that anywhere near that number have died. Many on the list are simply out of touch with family, or may have never been in the affected region, officials said.

Powell will represent the United States at a conference of donor nations and affected countries Thursday.

In Washington as the new Congress convened, legislators announced plans to introduce a bill that would allow Americans to claim tax deductions when filing their 2004 forms for donations made through Jan. 31 to tsunami relief efforts. -- Associated Press

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