[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 1 (Monday, January 10, 2005)]
[Pages 3-4]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

January 1, 2005

    Good morning. On this first day of a new year, we join the world in 
feeling enormous sadness over a great human tragedy. Last Sunday, an 
earthquake and violent tsunamis struck the nations that surround the 
Indian Ocean. The carnage is of a scale that defies comprehension, with 
over 100,000 deaths reported. I have signed a proclamation calling for 
our Nation's flag to be flown at half-staff this coming week. As the 
people of this devastated region struggle to recover, we offer our love 
and compassion and our assurance that America will be there to help.
    Earlier this week, I spoke with the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, 
Thailand, and Indonesia. I offered them the condolences of our Nation, 
and I praised their steadfast leadership. The task they face is 
difficult. Their relief resources are stretched nearly to the limit. 
Communications, roads, and medical facilities have been badly damaged. 
Disease has become a very real threat.
    Americans are a compassionate people, and we are already hard at 
work helping those nations meet these challenges. The United States has 
pledged $350 million in relief assistance, with $15 million already in 
the hands of relief organizations in the affected countries. To help 
coordinate this massive relief effort, disaster response officials are 
on the ground and have established a support center in Thailand that is 
manned and operational. More than 20 patrol and cargo aircraft have been 
made available to assess the disaster and deliver relief supplies. Many 
of those aircraft are already on the scene. We have dispatched the 
aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, the maritime prepositioning squadron 
from Guam, and an amphibious ship carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit. 
They will soon be in position to support relief efforts, to include the 
generation of clean water.
    Tomorrow I will send a delegation to the area to meet with regional 
leaders and international organizations to assess what additional aid 
can be provided by the United States. The delegation will be led by 
Secretary of State Colin Powell and Governor Jeb Bush, who has extensive 
experience in the State of Florida with relief, rehabilitation, and 
reconstruction efforts following natural disasters. Secretary Powell has 
already spoken with many of his counterparts in the region and with 
officials from the United Nations and other governments that are helping 
with the response. Together, we are leading an international coalition 
to help with immediate humanitarian relief, rehabilitation, and long-
term construction efforts. India, Japan, and Australia have already 
pledged to help us coordinate these relief efforts, and I'm confident 
many more nations will join this core group in short order.
    Here at home, Americans are translating the blessings of our own 
country into generosity to others. From charitable organizations to 
private individuals to companies, our fellow citizens, on their own 
initiative, are raising millions of dollars for relief efforts.

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These Americans, donor and fundraiser alike, represent the best of our 
country and offer an example to the world. Any American who desires to 
donate to these efforts can easily do so online, by accessing the USA
Freedom Corps' web site at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
    In this season when we gather with loved ones and count our many 
blessings, we hold the victims of this terrible tragedy in our hearts 
and prayers. And let us be mindful that even in this modern age, our 
world still requires compassion, tolerance, and generosity from each of 
us.
    Laura and I send our condolences to all whose hearts are filled with 
grief this New Year's Day. And to our fellow Americans, we wish you 
peace and happiness in the coming year.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:20 a.m. on December 31, 2004, at the 
Bush Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 1, 
2005. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 31, 2004, but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.