<from washingtonpost.com>
By Terence Hunt
The Associated Press
Monday, January 3, 2005; 10:17 AM
President Bush has tapped former Presidents Clinton and Bush to lead a nationwide charitable fund-raising effort for victims of the Asian tsunamis, the White House announced Monday.
The two men will lead an effort "to encourage the American people and American businesses to support, through private contributions, non-governmental and international organizations" relief and reconstruction to areas devastated by the tsunamis, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
The president announced the effort in the White House's Roosevelt Room with the two former presidents at his side.
Afterward, Bush was paying brief visits to the embassies of the four nations -- Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand -- hit hardest by the disaster. Bush was to sign condolence books at each embassy, McClellan said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has decided to send the USNS Mercy, a 1,000-bed hospital ship based at San Diego, to join the tsunami relief effort in south Asia, two officials said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The ship, currently at sea for a previously scheduled test, is capable of receiving patients by helicopter or by ship, either at anchor or while underway.
Bush has not yet made a contribution to the relief effort, but plans to give an unspecified amount, McClellan said.
At the same time, the president was waiting to hear back from a delegation he dispatched to the region to assess what more the United States government can do to help. That team, led by Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, arrived in the region Monday.
Bush faced criticism for being slow to respond to the Dec. 26 disaster. Other countries were quicker to commit large amounts of aid money, and Japan has outpaced the U.S. total of $350 million pledged so far.
But private donations have been pouring in from people in the United States and around the world, and the White House was encouraging that flow to continue.
The White House's Freedom Corps outfit, which helps facilitate volunteer efforts around the country, is to assist the two former presidents in soliciting private contributions.
The former presidents will travel the country and do media interviews as part of their effort, focused on American giving, McClellan said.
"This will bring even more focus on the need to provide support for these international organizations in the affected areas," McClellan said.
"This is a human tragedy that is really beyond comprehension and we want to make sure we're doing everything we can both from the government perspective as well as private support to help those who are suffering," he said.
© 2005 The Associated Press
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