Secretary Colin L. Powell CNN American Morning Heidi Collins

Interview on CNN's American Morning With Heidi Collins

Secretary Colin L. Powell Washington, DC December 28, 2004 (7:05 a.m. EST)

MS. COLLINS: A few moments ago, I spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the State Department about relief efforts and I asked for his reaction to comments by a UN Under Secretary General calling U.S. relief efforts stingy.

SECRETARY POWELL: It's a terrible catastrophe that has hit all of these countries, unprecedented in scope and scale, and that death toll you mentioned is liable to rise even higher. So we will have to make an assessment as we move ahead to see what the needs are, to see what the countries are able to do for themselves, and what the international community needs.

We responded to the initial request that came from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent with a $4 million contribution against their $7 million international request. We've added another $10 million. We have got something like nine patrol planes on the way and 12 C-130s loaded with relief supplies on the way and we'll make a continuing assessment to see what the need is.

The United States is not stingy. We are the greatest contributor to international relief efforts in the world. We do more to help people who are suffering from lack of food or poverty or suffering from HIV/AIDS, and this Administration has a particularly good record in increasing the amount of assistance that we give to the world. But obviously we have to see what the need is in this terrible tragedy and we will respond to the need along with the rest of the international community.

MS. COLLINS: I know you said yesterday in your press conference that there are eight Americans who have lost their lives in this, still many more unaccounted for. Do you have an update on any of those figures for us?

SECRETARY POWELL: The latest numbers we have are 11 Americans have lost their lives, a number have been wounded, and hundreds are yet unaccounted for. It doesn't mean that they have been lost or are injured, and we haven't found them in hospitals yet. We just haven't been able to run them all down because of difficult communications, and people are still checking in with our consular officers.

MS. COLLINS: Well, I imagine those people very desperately want to get home back to this country. Any idea how many are still just stranded there?

SECRETARY POWELL: I can't give you an answer to that, but obviously the airline schedules have been disrupted, transportation has been disrupted. But there are still hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists, not just American tourists but other tourists, who are trying to get home or trying to get in touch with their families.

MS. COLLINS: Well, I appreciate your answers on that. Let's go ahead and turn the corner, if we could now, Mr. Secretary. In talking about this new tape from Usama bin Laden that the CIA has said they're moderately confident of its authenticity, it seems to be endorsing Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi.

And if that is the case, what sort of increased power does that give Zarqawi?

SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know. If it is Usama bin Laden -- and the CIA has not made a final judgment on that -- it certainly rhetorically puts them together. Whether it gives them any added strength or not in terms of resources, I can't answer. But it would rhetorically put them together and they are both of a like kind: terrorists, murderers. They're speaking out against the election at the end of January in Iraq because they don't want democracy, they don't want the Iraqi people to decide how they will be led. They want to take the Iraqi people back to the past, and that's why we must push forward, keep fighting this insurgency and move forward towards elections on the 30th of January, so that the Iraqi people get the opportunity to speak for themselves.

MS. COLLINS: Right. And as you mentioned, the elections coming up so quickly. Just yesterday, the leader of one of the largest Sunni organizations, the Iraqi Islamic Party, announced they're going to boycott these elections, citing some security concerns and so forth.

How big of a setback is that, or could it be, for the planned elections?

SECRETARY POWELL: It's a concern. They may change their mind and rejoin. We'll have to wait and see.

We're doing everything we can to improve the security in the Sunni areas. I don't think there's going to be a problem in most of the country in getting a good turnout. The problem is really in the Sunni area and that's a densely populated area so we want to get a good turnout there. And all of our coalition military efforts and Iraqi military and police efforts are going to be focusing on the Sunni area in the weeks ahead to get that turnout.

And we're encouraging Sunni leaders, especially Sunni leaders in neighboring countries, to encourage Sunni leaders in Iraq to get their people to come out and participate in this election. If they don't participate in this election, they're denying themselves the opportunity to speak for the future of their country and how they're going to be led and who their leaders are going to be.

MS. COLLINS: And whether they participate or not, the elections will go on January 30th?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, the elections will go on and we hope they will participate. And if the election goes well, then we will have a Transitional National Assembly that will reflect the will of the Iraqi people.

MS. COLLINS: Secretary of State Colin Powell talking with me just a little bit earlier today. For information on how to help with relief efforts for the tsunami, you can go to the State Department's website. You can see it at www.state.gov. And family members concerned about loved ones can call the State Department hotline. That number, 1-888-407-4747.

2004/1404 [End] Released on December 28, 2004