Secretary Colin L. Powell NBC Today Show Matt Lauer

Interview on NBC's Today Show With Matt Lauer

Secretary Colin L. Powell Washington, DC December 28, 2004 (7:08 a.m. EST)

MR. LAUER: Secretary Powell, good morning to you.

SECRETARY POWELL: Good morning, Matt. How are you?

MR. LAUER: I'm fine, thanks, but shaking my head at the numbers we're getting this morning, some 40,000 people now reported dead as a result of this Tsunami in South Asia over the weekend. I know the U.S. has pledged some $15 million in initial relief. Where do we go from here? What can we do?

SECRETARY POWELL: What we have to do, Matt, is make a careful assessment of what is needed. We have given $4 million right away to the International Federation of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, another $10 million, which with other funds, brings it up to 15. We've dispatched nine patrol planes to the region from our Pacific Command and another dozen C-130s from our Pacific Command are hauling in supplies. We have disaster relief teams that are on the way in and we'll add to those teams as many people as necessary to make an assessment.

We'll also have to see what each country can do for itself and make sure that we apply the aid in those places where it is most desperately needed. Some countries, larger countries, are able to handle it better than smaller countries or countries that are less developed. Sri Lanka is the one that is hardest hit, is uppermost in my mind.

MR. LAUER: What direct requests have you received from the individual countries to date?

SECRETARY POWELL: Yeah, we've received direct requests from Sri Lanka, and we've received general requests from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. I've been in touch with Secretary General Kofi Annan, and I've been in touch with every one of the foreign ministers of the affected countries to let them know that they should make their requests known to our embassies so that we can respond.

MR. LAUER: The numbers I'm hearing, Secretary Powell, is this is going to cost billions -- you know, obviously, the human toll, most important right now -- but billions and billions of dollars. So is the United States prepared to go into that realm? Are we prepared to get into the billion dollar range?

SECRETARY POWELL: I can't answer that yet, Matt. We'll have to wait and see what the needs actually are. But clearly, the United States will be a major contributor to this international effort. And, yes, it will run into the billions of dollars. Villages have been wiped out, schools wiped out, business places wiped out, but it will take a while to make sure we have a good understanding of what the needs are.

MR. LAUER: What about organizations? I mean, so often after a major tragedy like this, relief pours in from so many different areas but it's not efficiently handled and so the people at most need don't get the benefit. Can we, can the U.S., contribute organizational expertise?

SECRETARY POWELL: Yes, we can. That's why we have sent in our disaster response teams, who have a great deal of experience in these kinds of catastrophes. And that's why the United Nations has organized itself so that there is a single point of contact up in the United Nations; and of course, each country is responsible for its own relief efforts and we are in touch with the relief agencies in those countries.

MR. LAUER: And I want to tell our viewers that at the end of this segment, Secretary Powell, I'm going to put a phone number up at the State Department, and also the website address of the State Department --

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you.

MR. LAUER: -- because so many people in this country have loved ones, relatives living in the impacted countries and want to get them information.

Let me turn to another subject in the news, the approaching elections in Iraq, now about 30 days away or so. And as you know, the insurgents in that country have stepped up their attacks and they seem to be targeting, I guess, targets that have something to do with the voting process. As a result, many of the Sunni Muslims in that country have said they'll sit this one out. Aren't we breaking in some ways one of the most basic promises we made to the Iraqi people a year and a half or so ago, that we would provide an atmosphere and security under which they could hold free elections?

SECRETARY POWELL: We're not breaking a promise. We're hard at work trying to make sure that that promise comes true. We're facing a determined insurgency led by people who don't want elections. They don't want to see the Iraqi people decide who their leaders are going to be. They want to go back to the past and we're not going to let that happen. And so, we're going to fight this insurgency with coalition forces, and increasingly with Iraqi military and police forces that are being built up under the leadership of General Petraeus.

Most of the country will be able to participate in the election, but the Sunni areas, where the insurgency is raging -- and that's where we have to focus our efforts -- most Iraqis, even in the Sunni areas, want to vote. They want to have a say in who their leaders are going to be. And that's why election officials are out working, polling places are being set up, registration is taking place.

And so, we're going to keep driving ahead at the request of the President of the Iraqi Interim Government and the prime minister, Prime Minister Allawi, to do everything we can to have this election on the 30th of June -- of January.

MR. LAUER: How do we figure it out though? If the elections take place and we see that the 20 percent of the Sunni population didn't receive what we probably guess would be the appropriate numbers of seats in the National Assembly, how do we know if it's because of fraud, fear or apathy?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, let's not prejudge the outcome. Let's wait and see what happens on the 30th of January. Let's give people the opportunity to vote. And we have 107 political entities who have, in one way or another, indicated desire to be a part of this process, and those voting lists have been prepared and the people will have a chance to make their choice among these 107 entities. And one entity has dropped out. I hope it will come back in before election day comes, and then we'll see where we are.

What we want is a government that is representative. We know that it will have a Shia majority. That's the majority of the population. One would expect that. But the Transitional Administrative Law that was written provides protections for the minorities -- the Sunnis and the Kurds and others, the smaller segments of the populations -- so that they will have a chance to participate in the National Assembly, the Transitional National Assembly.

MR. LAUER: Right.

SECRETARY POWELL: And we want a representative government.

MR. LAUER: In closing, you're going to be leaving your post at the State Department in the not-too-distant future. Some people are saying that as you leave, the last dissenting voice will leave this Administration. Two real quick parts of this: First of all, how much did your dissenting opinions contribute to your decision to leave the position of Secretary of State? And are you worried that in your absence there will be what some call a "group think" on major and serious policy issues?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I wouldn't characterize my views as being that of a dissenting voice. For the past four years, I worked closely with President Bush and the other members of this Administration to do many things in foreign policy where we all were in complete agreement, the overthrow of two dictatorships in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

I pressed to see if we could deal with the Iraq problem diplomatically, but recognizing that it might require force, and when force was decided upon I was a full participant in that decision and recognized what had to be done. We succeeded in helping India and Pakistan from getting into a war. We have created superb relations with the Chinese and we have good relations with Russia. We have increased foreign assistance by a significant amount.

So rather than being the dissenting voice, I was a full partner in this effort. Now that also included when I had disagreements or when I had a point of view that I wanted to be -- make sure that the President understood -- I make that point of view known.

MR. LAUER: And are you comfortable with the mix of opinions that there will be enough strong voices to do the same in your absence?

SECRETARY POWELL: I know the people who are taking over. They are all people of skills, particularly Dr. Rice, and I'm confident that her voice will be heard.

MR. LAUER: Well, let me just say, if we don't get a chance to speak before you leave your post, it's been a pleasure dealing with you over these last four years.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Matt. Happy New Year.

MR. LAUER: And thank you to you. And I want to put up that phone number right now for people who have loved ones and want more information on what's happened in South Asia. The number if 1-888-407-4747 or go to travel.state.gov on the internet.

Secretary Powell, thanks again.
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