Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Sunday
Relief Supplies Starting to Arrive for Tsunami Victims
Aired January 02, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY: Our top stories now -- the search continues for tens of thousands still missing from last weekend's tsunami in Asia. The confirmed death toll from Malaysia to east Africa is more than 141,000. Earthquake aftershocks are rocking the region still.
Today's insurgent violence Iraq includes a suicide car bomb attack that killed 18 Iraqi soldiers and their driver. A military spokesman tells CNN the bomber rammed a bus outside a coalition base near Balad, north of Baghdad. Six Iraqi soldiers were wounded.
Delta Airlines is preparing to slash fares and drop restrictive rules such as Saturday night stays. "Time" magazine says the nation's number two carrier will overhaul its pricing policy next week. Delta has been restructuring to try to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY: I'm Miles O'Brien. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY. Ahead, the tsunami and its effect on the terror network. We'll talk to CNN military and security analyst Ken Robinson about whether this disaster might actually help the terrorists or might break their network. Could it hurt their bottom line?
WHITFIELD: And Americans from east to west want to help the tsunami victims. CNN's Miguel Marquez shows us how the tsunami is uniting people from all different faiths.
O'BRIEN: Let's get started with the latest developments in south Asia. Destroyed villages and mountains of debris, a week after the huge earthquake and the tsunamis have triggered the full scope of devastation continues to emerge. The death toll now stands at more than 141,000. It is expected to grow. And more aftershocks are shaking the area. A U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell on its way to the region. First stop, Bangkok, Thailand, then onto the island of Phuket and then Jakarta, Indonesia.
WHITFIELD: The U.S. military is mounting its largest operation in south Asia since the Vietnam war. It is delivering supplies from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln stationed off Sumatra. The president of the Maldives saw some of the damage firsthand today. He visited one of 14 islands completely evacuated after the tsunamis. A U.S. team is also on the ground assessing the damage.
In Thailand, a special church service was held inside Phuket international hospital for those injured in that disaster. The hospital is treating hundreds of Thais and tourists as well. Some of the most harrowing images of people being swept away by the water came from the city of Galle, Sri Lanka. For residents, the loss of life and property is incomprehensible, but many say their focus now is on the future. Here is CNN's Satinder Bindra.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their families are dead. Their homes have been smashed and their livelihoods destroyed. But it will take more than a killer wave to shatter the spirit of many people in Galle. They team up to bring their fishing boats back to the edge of the sea. For all that's destroyed and the people it's consumed, the ocean here is still rich in fish and these fishermen realize they must get back to work or they'll starve.
I'm willing to borrow money at 15 or 20 percent interest to rebuild my boat says this fisherman, but I have to go back. Elsewhere in the city, bridges are being rebuilt. Everyone realizes without them, relief efforts will fail and many more Sri Lankans will die. Last Sunday, this city was flattened by a tsunami. This eyewitness video shows the scale of destruction. One week after the city is slowly trying to get back on its feet. It's trying to blot out the pain of the past and to secure a future.
But for all their efforts, some residents fall back into a sea of depression. They seek the company of others. Collective grief somehow seems less painful. If my mother was alive, I could do everything, says resident Don Viterana (ph). Now that my mother has gone, I can't do anything. Eight members of Don's Viterana's family died here. Two bodies still haven't been recovered.
His business, too, has been wiped out and he's now moved to a shelter. I think it will take all of Sri Lankans he says, at least 20 years to recover. Just a few yards away from Viterana's home, his neighbors try to get on with their lives. With their tears slowly drying up, they believe it's time for Galle to move on. Satinder Bindra, CNN, Galle, southern Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Some of the devastated areas by the tsunamis have already seen much turmoil of a political kind. Sri Lanka, one such place. Now a group that's been fighting the government for years is playing a key role in relief efforts. CNN's Stan Grant reports in a story you'll see only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're in tiger country. The gun here is a symbol of power. To get here, you effectively leave Sri Lanka in the south, then through a tamil (ph) tiger checkpoint in the north. Land mine warnings a reminder. This is the site of a two decade long civil war. Car bombings, suicide attacks, assassinations, all weapons of war in the tamils' push for a separate homeland. They blew up the Colombo airport in 2001. They're blamed for the killing of former Prime Minister Rajid (ph) Gandhi in 1991. They've tried to assassinate current Sri Lankan President Chandra (INAUDIBLE). They popularized suicide bombings, now copied to deadly effect by groups like al Qaeda and Hamas. The United States lists the tamil tigers as a terrorist group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the late 1970s, they were a rag-tag group of only 45 members, led by (INAUDIBLE) their leader. But over a period of time, they have become one of the strongest proponents of terror in the world.
GRANT: From revolution to evolution, the liberation tigers of Tamil Ilam (ph) are now desperately trying to save lives not take them. Here the Tamil Tigers's own video of the day the tsunami hit. They were on the scene within minutes, 20 years of waging war, preparing them for the challenge of this daunting humanitarian mission. All aid is being funneled through the tamils' own relief agency, the tamil rehabilitation organization, recognized internationally, even in Sri Lanka south.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to live in peace here with our dignity.
GRANT: This is a tamil martyrs cemetery, one of many to mark the tens of thousands who lost their lives in a civil war to keep people apart. Now, thousands more have lost their lives to a tsunami that may just bring people back together.
From terrorists to relief workers, and now, some hope, peacemakers. A shaky cease-fire is in place. The tamil tigers had won a de facto state with force. They have their own police and courts. But the Hindu Tamil minority is now part of a bigger majority, those whose lives have been lost or touched by the sea's fury. A sea that has no respect for borders or politics, or, as the tamils have learned, the power of the gun. Stan Grant, CNN, Kilanotche (ph), northern Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A top priority now in south Asia is helping those who survived the tsunamis, but there's concern about the long-term effects of the disaster on the region, specifically what effect this has had on the terror network in the region as we saw a part of that alluded to in Stan's piece. Let's talk about that with CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson. He joins us from Washington. Good to see you, ken.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. The tsunami did not discriminate, but we know that there had been concerns about terrorist cells and groups in this region. When or how might we know how this tsunami impacted them?
ROBINSON: You know, Stan's report is fantastic, because it key lined points, the fact that there's enormous opportunity here where these groups could be reached to by the central governments of the countries that are affected to prevent them from taking it to the next level of continuing to fight, but using this as an opportunity to communicate with them. The thing that folks are looking at right now is whether their services organizations that provide services to the population will start to try to turn that population into a militant group. That's the fear.
WHITFIELD: And the concern is of course with the amount of money that perhaps the U.S. has contributed and other international aid groups and other countries, might that in any way help soften the anti-western sentiments that have been apparent in that region before the tsunami?
ROBINSON: Absolutely. This is an opportunity for the United States government to step into an issue of aid and establish some sincere legitimacy with both the world, because this is a global disaster, as well as that region of south Asia. This is an enormous opportunity for Colin Powell to step up and really help lead and guide a massive coalition to wage a war on hopelessness, which existed in this part of the world long before the tsunami hit.
WHITFIELD: Do you see that as a greater opportunity with Colin Powell, making his presence known there this week and with a stepped up $350 million in promised U.S. money?
ROBINSON: I really do, Fred. My hope is that the president of the United States would look to someone of the stature of Secretary Powell to lead an effort like this, once he leaves office as the secretary of state because he's trained his entire life for this type of challenge. This needs to be done on the scale of a Marshall Plan that rebuilt World War II torn Europe and other economies of the world will be affected by this. It will take 10 years, if it takes a day, and a man like Powell could step up to that challenge.
WHITFIELD: Initially there was some criticism however that the U.S. didn't pledge enough, wasn't demonstrating that it cared enough, and that perhaps that was sending the wrong message to the Islamic world. Did that cause irreparable harm?
ROBINSON: Well, you know, the -- our legitimacy issue with the Islamic world is already at the lowest water point I think it's ever been and it certainly didn't help that for four days the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was silent. It didn't matter that he was making phone calls -- I'm referring to the president of the United States, -- to world leaders. What matters with the presidency is the power of perception and persuasion to get out front on something early and say you stand by these affected populations and for four days the United States was silent in its public diplomacy. It hurt.
WHITFIELD: And most recently, there was some expressed concern that perhaps because of the vulnerabilities of the U.S. and south Asia now as a result of the tsunamis, there are an awful lot of Americans and other tourists who are trying to get back to their homeland and that perhaps more might need to be put in place to keep any unsavory types, any members of any terror groups or cells from actually getting into the U.S. using this tsunami disaster as an opportunity to get to this mainland?
ROBINSON: True, criminal elements are already at play right now, even trying to sell relief efforts in some locations, reports coming out. Our own porous borders have always been challenged by our ability to have databases that are linked, to be able to distinguish between those who are wanted and those who are just honest tourists or people on visas. Those issues all now are interconnected as this global disaster plays out.
WHITFIELD: Military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson, thanks so much for joining us from Washington.
ROBINSON: Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And remember, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
O'BRIEN: In our on the frontlines segment this week --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. CARMELA WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: Appreciate the time that you do get, even if it's just five minutes, 10 minutes here, you treasure it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Newly married in the army and in Ramadi. Despair, in a videotape a New York family loses almost everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then I saw the wave pushing through the trees, a broken wave, pushing through the trees, taller than a man, quite a bit taller than a man and it was just pushing through it with sticks of yellow and white and stick figures running in front of it and it was just gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to the stick figures?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they're all dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A chilling tale from a survivor. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: On the frontlines tonight, a story that will make you reexamine that good-bye kiss you give your spouse as you head off to work.
O'BRIEN: For one husband and wife, both serving in Iraq, if tomorrow doesn't come, that kiss may have to last a lifetime. Our Chris Lawrence introduces us to the Wootens.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When these soldiers and spouses head to work in Ramadi the good-byes are often followed by gunshots.
SPEC. CARMELA WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: You take things for granted in the states. All right, they're going to go to work, they'll be back home. I'll see them in a little bit.
LAWRENCE: In Iraq, a little bit could be a week, a month or more likely even longer.
STAFF SGT. MARIO WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: When we can't spend time together, it's like every second you just try to draw it out as long as possible.
LAWRENCE: Staff Sergeant Mario Wootan is an Army sniper, his wife an intelligence analyst. The couple tied the knot nearly two months ago, but this is the first time they've seen each other since then.
M. WOOTAN: Just to sit next to her, it means the world.
LAWRENCE: Mario and Carmela are based in Ramadi, their camps only a few miles apart. But the roads between them is one of the most dangerous in Iraq, lined with insurgents and explosives. Carmela had to hitch a ride on a tank convoy and get special permission to stay.
C. WOOTAN: You really appreciate the time that you do get, even if it's just five minutes, 10 minutes here, you treasure it.
LAWRENCE: Now back home in the states, thousands of husbands and wives will be waiting more than a year for their spouses to come home from Iraq. Carmela can empathize, but only with those strong enough to stay loyal.
C. WOOTAN: Some wives, they're like, forget this and I know some people their wives, even while they're here, because they don't understand what they're going through. They think they're just being neglected but they don't really realize. They'd have to be here to realize what they're actually going through. So I feel for those that are, you know, sticking it out.
LAWRENCE: These soldiers say they'll be doing just that with their units in Iraq and with each other.
(on-camera): Carmela has convoyed back to her own unit and may not see her husband until late next summer. That's when they're both scheduled to rotate home and have that honeymoon they never had time for. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In the latest Iraq violence, the deadliest attack on Iraqi security forces since last October. In the Sunni triangle north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into a bus carrying Iraqi national guard troops. At least 18 of them died along with their driver. U.S. officials say insurgent attacks are aimed at derailing Iraqi elections scheduled for January 30th.
WHITFIELD: In other news around the world, the Israeli military has pulled troops out of a refugee camp in southern Gaza. Now it's trying to stem (INAUDIBLE) rocket attacks in the north. Two (INAUDIBLE) rockets landed in Israel today. Another yesterday reportedly misfired and killed a Palestinian girl in Gaza.
Grief-stricken families in Buenos Aires, Argentina are burying loved ones killed in Thursday's nightclub fire. The blaze killed more than 180 people and injured more than 700. Argentine's are demanding a full government accounting for the country's worst fire in decades.
Authorities in Peru are urging residents near a captured police station to vacate their homes. An armed group demanding the resignation of President Toledo seized the station in a town southeast of Lima yesterday. Fighting in the town left four police officers dead. Unemployment and influence peddling, scandals have reduced Toledo's popularity to 9 percent.
O'BRIEN: What happens when you can't escape chaos? Specifically, what happens if your a child and your whole world is in chaos? We'll talk to a psychiatrist about short and long-term problems facing the children of the tsunami.
WHITFIELD: And aid is getting into the islands, but now can it get in to people who need it most?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The international community is rushing aid to tsunami- ravaged areas, but even when the aid gets to the region, there are problems getting it to those who most need it. CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Relief supplies are flooding into Aceh, but not fast enough. The infrastructure is simply overwhelmed. With only two small airports to service the area, the skies are literally blocked with traffic from relief flights. Insufficient loading and refueling equipment also means the turnaround time for these desperately needed supplies is painstakingly slow.
This is the main warehouse for relief supplies into Aceh, mountains of food, water and medical supplies, but getting it to survivors can be a logistical nightmare. French aid group, Firefighters Without Borders, has been trying to send a rescue medical team to the devastated west coast of Aceh, an area inaccessible by road. They are all packed, ready to go but they've been scrambling for almost two days to find transportation.
ISABELLE LAROEUX-GILLOUX, FIREFIGHTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: Yes, I'm sure we'll make it today. I think you have to say after one bottleneck, there's another one, so should not stop at one. It will end at some time. SHUBERT: That's why support like the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier group is so badly needed. It is a floating rescue mission with 6,000 crew, a hospital, and most important, a fleet of helicopters that can reach even the most inaccessible parts of Aceh.
COL. DAVID KELLY, U.S. SUPPORT GROUP INDONESIA: It's wonderful because they don't have to park at these airports any longer than to pick up the supplies they need and move them to the affected area. So that's been a great asset for us to have those lily pads, if you will, in the water.
SHUBERT: Helicopter missions like this will keep survivors alive for now, but unblocking the logistical bottlenecks on the ground takes time, time many survivors don't have. Atika Shubert, CNN, Maydah (ph), Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Bush administration has pledged $350 million in tsunami relief as you know. An update now from CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush is back in Washington at the White House after a week long vacation. This weekend, making it quite clear that despite the criticism, the U.S. is expressing leadership, taking on a leadership role in providing aid for those tsunami victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): American Seahawk helicopters arrive with food, energy drinks and hope. Critical supplies are now getting to tsunami survivors. A U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president's brother, Florida's Governor Jeb Bush is on the way to the region. Before departing, Powell defended the U.S. response to the tsunami crisis, which critics initially called paltry and slow.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: $350 million, two carrier groups, thousands of troops, when you look on television this morning, Wolf, what you are seeing are American helicopters landing and delivering assistance.
GOV. JEB BUSH, FLORIDA: This devastation, what happened in Florida pales by comparison to what happened in these countries and I think it's appropriate for a delegation of people to make an assessment and also to show that our country really cares.
MALVEAUX: It's the largest American military operation in southern Asia since the Vietnam War. Relief workers say now just as important as cash contribution is finding the means to deliver the aid that's pouring in.
JAN EGELAND, U.S. RELIEF COORDINATOR: Those helicopters that are now ferrying out relief to isolated villages on the Sumatra coast, for example, from the United States, and from other partner countries, those helicopters are worth their weight in gold now, for us.
MALVEAUX: President Bush returned to Washington from his week long vacation at his Texas ranch, vowing that the U.S. would lead an international coalition to help with the immediate humanitarian needs and long-term reconstruction in southern Asia. Over the weekend he issued a proclamation, ordering all U.S. flags at government buildings be lowered to half staff, starting Monday, to show respect for the tsunami victims. The U.S. delegation traveling to the region will visit those areas hardest hit by the disaster.
First in Thailand, to meet with officials in Bangkok and survey the damage in Phuket, the popular tourist destination where thousands of visitors and locals were swept to sea. To Indonesia, Jakarta where Powell will represent the U.S. at an international conference to coordinate the relief effort and to the coastal town of Aceh, the epicenter of the disaster where the wave wiped out whole villages and possibly Sri Lanka, where the death toll now approaches 50,000.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Secretary Powell says that this is not just a humanitarian mission, but a matter of U.S. national security that the region must be stabilized and that if the masses become desperate or demoralized, they'll fall prey rather to terrorist organizations who will move into recruit. Miles?
O"BRIEN: Suzanne, is there much talk at the White House about a presidential visit to the region?
MALVEAUX: It really is premature. That's question has come up a number of times today, whether or not the president would actually visit the region. Secretary Powell dismissed that earlier today saying that really the president is more useful getting updates from the secretary, from his brother, that when you take into account everything that is involved in a presidential trip, they believe it would be more of a distraction. He says he wants to complement this humanitarian mission, not complicate it.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: From the White House to Capitol Hill, when Congress reconvenes this week, how much money will it appropriate for the disaster? Ed Henry joins us for a live report.
Another heart breaking story involving a New York family and their relatives in Indonesia. After reconnecting last year, tragedy strikes.
O'BRIEN: And here's a story for you, this surfer had to run from the biggest wave of his life just to survive. We'll tell you the story chilling as it is in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 2, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY: Our top stories now -- the search continues for tens of thousands still missing from last weekend's tsunami in Asia. The confirmed death toll from Malaysia to east Africa is more than 141,000. Earthquake aftershocks are rocking the region still.
Today's insurgent violence Iraq includes a suicide car bomb attack that killed 18 Iraqi soldiers and their driver. A military spokesman tells CNN the bomber rammed a bus outside a coalition base near Balad, north of Baghdad. Six Iraqi soldiers were wounded.
Delta Airlines is preparing to slash fares and drop restrictive rules such as Saturday night stays. "Time" magazine says the nation's number two carrier will overhaul its pricing policy next week. Delta has been restructuring to try to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY: I'm Miles O'Brien. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY. Ahead, the tsunami and its effect on the terror network. We'll talk to CNN military and security analyst Ken Robinson about whether this disaster might actually help the terrorists or might break their network. Could it hurt their bottom line?
WHITFIELD: And Americans from east to west want to help the tsunami victims. CNN's Miguel Marquez shows us how the tsunami is uniting people from all different faiths.
O'BRIEN: Let's get started with the latest developments in south Asia. Destroyed villages and mountains of debris, a week after the huge earthquake and the tsunamis have triggered the full scope of devastation continues to emerge. The death toll now stands at more than 141,000. It is expected to grow. And more aftershocks are shaking the area. A U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell on its way to the region. First stop, Bangkok, Thailand, then onto the island of Phuket and then Jakarta, Indonesia.
WHITFIELD: The U.S. military is mounting its largest operation in south Asia since the Vietnam war. It is delivering supplies from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln stationed off Sumatra. The president of the Maldives saw some of the damage firsthand today. He visited one of 14 islands completely evacuated after the tsunamis. A U.S. team is also on the ground assessing the damage.
In Thailand, a special church service was held inside Phuket international hospital for those injured in that disaster. The hospital is treating hundreds of Thais and tourists as well. Some of the most harrowing images of people being swept away by the water came from the city of Galle, Sri Lanka. For residents, the loss of life and property is incomprehensible, but many say their focus now is on the future. Here is CNN's Satinder Bindra.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their families are dead. Their homes have been smashed and their livelihoods destroyed. But it will take more than a killer wave to shatter the spirit of many people in Galle. They team up to bring their fishing boats back to the edge of the sea. For all that's destroyed and the people it's consumed, the ocean here is still rich in fish and these fishermen realize they must get back to work or they'll starve.
I'm willing to borrow money at 15 or 20 percent interest to rebuild my boat says this fisherman, but I have to go back. Elsewhere in the city, bridges are being rebuilt. Everyone realizes without them, relief efforts will fail and many more Sri Lankans will die. Last Sunday, this city was flattened by a tsunami. This eyewitness video shows the scale of destruction. One week after the city is slowly trying to get back on its feet. It's trying to blot out the pain of the past and to secure a future.
But for all their efforts, some residents fall back into a sea of depression. They seek the company of others. Collective grief somehow seems less painful. If my mother was alive, I could do everything, says resident Don Viterana (ph). Now that my mother has gone, I can't do anything. Eight members of Don's Viterana's family died here. Two bodies still haven't been recovered.
His business, too, has been wiped out and he's now moved to a shelter. I think it will take all of Sri Lankans he says, at least 20 years to recover. Just a few yards away from Viterana's home, his neighbors try to get on with their lives. With their tears slowly drying up, they believe it's time for Galle to move on. Satinder Bindra, CNN, Galle, southern Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Some of the devastated areas by the tsunamis have already seen much turmoil of a political kind. Sri Lanka, one such place. Now a group that's been fighting the government for years is playing a key role in relief efforts. CNN's Stan Grant reports in a story you'll see only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're in tiger country. The gun here is a symbol of power. To get here, you effectively leave Sri Lanka in the south, then through a tamil (ph) tiger checkpoint in the north. Land mine warnings a reminder. This is the site of a two decade long civil war. Car bombings, suicide attacks, assassinations, all weapons of war in the tamils' push for a separate homeland. They blew up the Colombo airport in 2001. They're blamed for the killing of former Prime Minister Rajid (ph) Gandhi in 1991. They've tried to assassinate current Sri Lankan President Chandra (INAUDIBLE). They popularized suicide bombings, now copied to deadly effect by groups like al Qaeda and Hamas. The United States lists the tamil tigers as a terrorist group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the late 1970s, they were a rag-tag group of only 45 members, led by (INAUDIBLE) their leader. But over a period of time, they have become one of the strongest proponents of terror in the world.
GRANT: From revolution to evolution, the liberation tigers of Tamil Ilam (ph) are now desperately trying to save lives not take them. Here the Tamil Tigers's own video of the day the tsunami hit. They were on the scene within minutes, 20 years of waging war, preparing them for the challenge of this daunting humanitarian mission. All aid is being funneled through the tamils' own relief agency, the tamil rehabilitation organization, recognized internationally, even in Sri Lanka south.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to live in peace here with our dignity.
GRANT: This is a tamil martyrs cemetery, one of many to mark the tens of thousands who lost their lives in a civil war to keep people apart. Now, thousands more have lost their lives to a tsunami that may just bring people back together.
From terrorists to relief workers, and now, some hope, peacemakers. A shaky cease-fire is in place. The tamil tigers had won a de facto state with force. They have their own police and courts. But the Hindu Tamil minority is now part of a bigger majority, those whose lives have been lost or touched by the sea's fury. A sea that has no respect for borders or politics, or, as the tamils have learned, the power of the gun. Stan Grant, CNN, Kilanotche (ph), northern Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A top priority now in south Asia is helping those who survived the tsunamis, but there's concern about the long-term effects of the disaster on the region, specifically what effect this has had on the terror network in the region as we saw a part of that alluded to in Stan's piece. Let's talk about that with CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson. He joins us from Washington. Good to see you, ken.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. The tsunami did not discriminate, but we know that there had been concerns about terrorist cells and groups in this region. When or how might we know how this tsunami impacted them?
ROBINSON: You know, Stan's report is fantastic, because it key lined points, the fact that there's enormous opportunity here where these groups could be reached to by the central governments of the countries that are affected to prevent them from taking it to the next level of continuing to fight, but using this as an opportunity to communicate with them. The thing that folks are looking at right now is whether their services organizations that provide services to the population will start to try to turn that population into a militant group. That's the fear.
WHITFIELD: And the concern is of course with the amount of money that perhaps the U.S. has contributed and other international aid groups and other countries, might that in any way help soften the anti-western sentiments that have been apparent in that region before the tsunami?
ROBINSON: Absolutely. This is an opportunity for the United States government to step into an issue of aid and establish some sincere legitimacy with both the world, because this is a global disaster, as well as that region of south Asia. This is an enormous opportunity for Colin Powell to step up and really help lead and guide a massive coalition to wage a war on hopelessness, which existed in this part of the world long before the tsunami hit.
WHITFIELD: Do you see that as a greater opportunity with Colin Powell, making his presence known there this week and with a stepped up $350 million in promised U.S. money?
ROBINSON: I really do, Fred. My hope is that the president of the United States would look to someone of the stature of Secretary Powell to lead an effort like this, once he leaves office as the secretary of state because he's trained his entire life for this type of challenge. This needs to be done on the scale of a Marshall Plan that rebuilt World War II torn Europe and other economies of the world will be affected by this. It will take 10 years, if it takes a day, and a man like Powell could step up to that challenge.
WHITFIELD: Initially there was some criticism however that the U.S. didn't pledge enough, wasn't demonstrating that it cared enough, and that perhaps that was sending the wrong message to the Islamic world. Did that cause irreparable harm?
ROBINSON: Well, you know, the -- our legitimacy issue with the Islamic world is already at the lowest water point I think it's ever been and it certainly didn't help that for four days the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was silent. It didn't matter that he was making phone calls -- I'm referring to the president of the United States, -- to world leaders. What matters with the presidency is the power of perception and persuasion to get out front on something early and say you stand by these affected populations and for four days the United States was silent in its public diplomacy. It hurt.
WHITFIELD: And most recently, there was some expressed concern that perhaps because of the vulnerabilities of the U.S. and south Asia now as a result of the tsunamis, there are an awful lot of Americans and other tourists who are trying to get back to their homeland and that perhaps more might need to be put in place to keep any unsavory types, any members of any terror groups or cells from actually getting into the U.S. using this tsunami disaster as an opportunity to get to this mainland?
ROBINSON: True, criminal elements are already at play right now, even trying to sell relief efforts in some locations, reports coming out. Our own porous borders have always been challenged by our ability to have databases that are linked, to be able to distinguish between those who are wanted and those who are just honest tourists or people on visas. Those issues all now are interconnected as this global disaster plays out.
WHITFIELD: Military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson, thanks so much for joining us from Washington.
ROBINSON: Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And remember, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
O'BRIEN: In our on the frontlines segment this week --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. CARMELA WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: Appreciate the time that you do get, even if it's just five minutes, 10 minutes here, you treasure it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Newly married in the army and in Ramadi. Despair, in a videotape a New York family loses almost everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then I saw the wave pushing through the trees, a broken wave, pushing through the trees, taller than a man, quite a bit taller than a man and it was just pushing through it with sticks of yellow and white and stick figures running in front of it and it was just gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to the stick figures?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they're all dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A chilling tale from a survivor. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: On the frontlines tonight, a story that will make you reexamine that good-bye kiss you give your spouse as you head off to work.
O'BRIEN: For one husband and wife, both serving in Iraq, if tomorrow doesn't come, that kiss may have to last a lifetime. Our Chris Lawrence introduces us to the Wootens.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When these soldiers and spouses head to work in Ramadi the good-byes are often followed by gunshots.
SPEC. CARMELA WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: You take things for granted in the states. All right, they're going to go to work, they'll be back home. I'll see them in a little bit.
LAWRENCE: In Iraq, a little bit could be a week, a month or more likely even longer.
STAFF SGT. MARIO WOOTAN, U.S. ARMY: When we can't spend time together, it's like every second you just try to draw it out as long as possible.
LAWRENCE: Staff Sergeant Mario Wootan is an Army sniper, his wife an intelligence analyst. The couple tied the knot nearly two months ago, but this is the first time they've seen each other since then.
M. WOOTAN: Just to sit next to her, it means the world.
LAWRENCE: Mario and Carmela are based in Ramadi, their camps only a few miles apart. But the roads between them is one of the most dangerous in Iraq, lined with insurgents and explosives. Carmela had to hitch a ride on a tank convoy and get special permission to stay.
C. WOOTAN: You really appreciate the time that you do get, even if it's just five minutes, 10 minutes here, you treasure it.
LAWRENCE: Now back home in the states, thousands of husbands and wives will be waiting more than a year for their spouses to come home from Iraq. Carmela can empathize, but only with those strong enough to stay loyal.
C. WOOTAN: Some wives, they're like, forget this and I know some people their wives, even while they're here, because they don't understand what they're going through. They think they're just being neglected but they don't really realize. They'd have to be here to realize what they're actually going through. So I feel for those that are, you know, sticking it out.
LAWRENCE: These soldiers say they'll be doing just that with their units in Iraq and with each other.
(on-camera): Carmela has convoyed back to her own unit and may not see her husband until late next summer. That's when they're both scheduled to rotate home and have that honeymoon they never had time for. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In the latest Iraq violence, the deadliest attack on Iraqi security forces since last October. In the Sunni triangle north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into a bus carrying Iraqi national guard troops. At least 18 of them died along with their driver. U.S. officials say insurgent attacks are aimed at derailing Iraqi elections scheduled for January 30th.
WHITFIELD: In other news around the world, the Israeli military has pulled troops out of a refugee camp in southern Gaza. Now it's trying to stem (INAUDIBLE) rocket attacks in the north. Two (INAUDIBLE) rockets landed in Israel today. Another yesterday reportedly misfired and killed a Palestinian girl in Gaza.
Grief-stricken families in Buenos Aires, Argentina are burying loved ones killed in Thursday's nightclub fire. The blaze killed more than 180 people and injured more than 700. Argentine's are demanding a full government accounting for the country's worst fire in decades.
Authorities in Peru are urging residents near a captured police station to vacate their homes. An armed group demanding the resignation of President Toledo seized the station in a town southeast of Lima yesterday. Fighting in the town left four police officers dead. Unemployment and influence peddling, scandals have reduced Toledo's popularity to 9 percent.
O'BRIEN: What happens when you can't escape chaos? Specifically, what happens if your a child and your whole world is in chaos? We'll talk to a psychiatrist about short and long-term problems facing the children of the tsunami.
WHITFIELD: And aid is getting into the islands, but now can it get in to people who need it most?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The international community is rushing aid to tsunami- ravaged areas, but even when the aid gets to the region, there are problems getting it to those who most need it. CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Relief supplies are flooding into Aceh, but not fast enough. The infrastructure is simply overwhelmed. With only two small airports to service the area, the skies are literally blocked with traffic from relief flights. Insufficient loading and refueling equipment also means the turnaround time for these desperately needed supplies is painstakingly slow.
This is the main warehouse for relief supplies into Aceh, mountains of food, water and medical supplies, but getting it to survivors can be a logistical nightmare. French aid group, Firefighters Without Borders, has been trying to send a rescue medical team to the devastated west coast of Aceh, an area inaccessible by road. They are all packed, ready to go but they've been scrambling for almost two days to find transportation.
ISABELLE LAROEUX-GILLOUX, FIREFIGHTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: Yes, I'm sure we'll make it today. I think you have to say after one bottleneck, there's another one, so should not stop at one. It will end at some time. SHUBERT: That's why support like the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier group is so badly needed. It is a floating rescue mission with 6,000 crew, a hospital, and most important, a fleet of helicopters that can reach even the most inaccessible parts of Aceh.
COL. DAVID KELLY, U.S. SUPPORT GROUP INDONESIA: It's wonderful because they don't have to park at these airports any longer than to pick up the supplies they need and move them to the affected area. So that's been a great asset for us to have those lily pads, if you will, in the water.
SHUBERT: Helicopter missions like this will keep survivors alive for now, but unblocking the logistical bottlenecks on the ground takes time, time many survivors don't have. Atika Shubert, CNN, Maydah (ph), Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Bush administration has pledged $350 million in tsunami relief as you know. An update now from CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush is back in Washington at the White House after a week long vacation. This weekend, making it quite clear that despite the criticism, the U.S. is expressing leadership, taking on a leadership role in providing aid for those tsunami victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): American Seahawk helicopters arrive with food, energy drinks and hope. Critical supplies are now getting to tsunami survivors. A U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president's brother, Florida's Governor Jeb Bush is on the way to the region. Before departing, Powell defended the U.S. response to the tsunami crisis, which critics initially called paltry and slow.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: $350 million, two carrier groups, thousands of troops, when you look on television this morning, Wolf, what you are seeing are American helicopters landing and delivering assistance.
GOV. JEB BUSH, FLORIDA: This devastation, what happened in Florida pales by comparison to what happened in these countries and I think it's appropriate for a delegation of people to make an assessment and also to show that our country really cares.
MALVEAUX: It's the largest American military operation in southern Asia since the Vietnam War. Relief workers say now just as important as cash contribution is finding the means to deliver the aid that's pouring in.
JAN EGELAND, U.S. RELIEF COORDINATOR: Those helicopters that are now ferrying out relief to isolated villages on the Sumatra coast, for example, from the United States, and from other partner countries, those helicopters are worth their weight in gold now, for us.
MALVEAUX: President Bush returned to Washington from his week long vacation at his Texas ranch, vowing that the U.S. would lead an international coalition to help with the immediate humanitarian needs and long-term reconstruction in southern Asia. Over the weekend he issued a proclamation, ordering all U.S. flags at government buildings be lowered to half staff, starting Monday, to show respect for the tsunami victims. The U.S. delegation traveling to the region will visit those areas hardest hit by the disaster.
First in Thailand, to meet with officials in Bangkok and survey the damage in Phuket, the popular tourist destination where thousands of visitors and locals were swept to sea. To Indonesia, Jakarta where Powell will represent the U.S. at an international conference to coordinate the relief effort and to the coastal town of Aceh, the epicenter of the disaster where the wave wiped out whole villages and possibly Sri Lanka, where the death toll now approaches 50,000.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Secretary Powell says that this is not just a humanitarian mission, but a matter of U.S. national security that the region must be stabilized and that if the masses become desperate or demoralized, they'll fall prey rather to terrorist organizations who will move into recruit. Miles?
O"BRIEN: Suzanne, is there much talk at the White House about a presidential visit to the region?
MALVEAUX: It really is premature. That's question has come up a number of times today, whether or not the president would actually visit the region. Secretary Powell dismissed that earlier today saying that really the president is more useful getting updates from the secretary, from his brother, that when you take into account everything that is involved in a presidential trip, they believe it would be more of a distraction. He says he wants to complement this humanitarian mission, not complicate it.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: From the White House to Capitol Hill, when Congress reconvenes this week, how much money will it appropriate for the disaster? Ed Henry joins us for a live report.
Another heart breaking story involving a New York family and their relatives in Indonesia. After reconnecting last year, tragedy strikes.
O'BRIEN: And here's a story for you, this surfer had to run from the biggest wave of his life just to survive. We'll tell you the story chilling as it is in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
