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Unknown Number of Americans Missing After Tsunami; Gonzales Begins Confirmation Hearings
Aired January 06, 2005 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The head of the U.N. makes an urgent appeal to the world -- pay what you promised now, or thousands more could die.
The number of Americans believed killed in the tsunami doubles. Why is it taking so long to even know who's missing?
In the U.S., snow, ice, wind and rain. Americans working up to a nasty winter storm. And things could get nasty on Capitol Hill. Alberto Gonzales wants to be the nation's attorney general. The hearings begin on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, everybody.
The pictures you're looking at this morning from Banda Aceh. The scope of the disaster there in Indonesia really boggling the mind. Aid workers are trying to reach some of the survivors. It is a monumental task, to say the very least.
Also this morning, children, as you well know, among the many victims of this tsunami, now children also are orphaned. What happens to those children? A report on that is ahead this morning.
Plus, local relief efforts now. Are the Thai people getting what they need? More on that this morning, as well -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Soledad.
Thanks.
And good morning back here in New York, as well.
We'll get to Soledad in a moment here again, back there in Phuket. But we want to bring you up to date right now on what we have today.
Reporters all over the region again today, throughout the day, into the evening hours, with the very latest on the rescue and the aid efforts. The new developments this morning now, at 8:00 here in the East.
World leaders pledging to work together at a summit that took place in Jakarta, Indonesia. The U.N. chief, Kofi Annan, says nearly a billion dollars is needed to get through the next six months. He needs it in cash, he says. Leaders also called for implementing a tsunami warning system in the area. The European Union adding $132 million to the nearly $4 billion pledged so far. And the confirmed number of tourists killed has gone up again, 368. Sixteen Americans confirmed dead. Twenty more are presumed dead, bringing that number now to 36.
The World Health Organization says $60 million is needed right now, as well, for 150,000 people now considered at extreme risk for disease or epidemic. There are also signs, too, positive signs, from Indonesia. Organization now improving and the U.N. feels confident that relief could reach 800,000 people who are in need of help now on the island of Sumatra.
Let's get back to Soledad again now in Phuket.
O'BRIEN: A little nugget, Bill, of good news there.
Well, documents that might one day help identify some of the thousands who are missing in the tsunami's wrath here in Phuket, Thailand are being collected by a group called the International Victim Coordination Center. They've been flooded with requests until now. It's pretty much gotten to a trickle. The volunteers now sort of outnumbering the number of people who are assistance. And so one worker there says they're thinking about closing their doors. That center usually open from 8:30 in the morning until about 9:00 at night, not getting much attention now, as the days pass. We're in day 11 of the tsunami's wrath.
The tsunami, of course, claiming thousands of lives of children, left thousands more orphaned. Many are now living in camps for the homeless. UNICEF is trying to reunite these children with some relatives, but as you can imagine, that task is just huge.
CNN's Atika Shubert has a look at that.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, we followed around today government officials as well as UNICEF workers as they try and set up post centers at these displacement camps to register and identify children. But as you say, it is an incredibly difficult task.
Here's what we found today.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SHUBERT (voice-over): Children play amid the wreckage, while a government team picks its way through. Their mission? To identify children whose parents have gone missing in the disaster.
Together with the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, the government is trying to register tens of thousands of displaced children in the hope they can be reunited with family.
AMANDA MELVILLE, UNICEF: It's to try to prevent not only the issue of trafficking of children, but also to prevent very well meaning people from taking the children and putting them in institutions in other countries or in other parts of Indonesia, where -- and without -- and later it could be very hard to find them.
SHUBERT: In each camp, the faces of the missing are plastered everywhere, most of them children. Parents line up at UNICEF clutching pictures of their sons and daughters.
(on camera): In this camp, there are makeshift shelters and there are makeshift families. In these two tents, a hovelled together community of neighbors who have lost their homes, mothers who have lost their children and children who have lost their parents.
(voice-over): Twelve-year-old Ikba (ph) was registered with UNICEF by Khaidir Syamsul. They seem like father and son, but it was only by chance that Ikba was away from his family, playing near Khaidir's home when the tsunami struck. It saved Ikba's life, but his family is gone. Khaidir has taken him in. "We're his parents as long as he's in this camp," he tells us. "We don't allow him to be left alone in silence and my kids like him. Honestly, I couldn't give him away now even if someone wanted to adopt him."
While other children play, Ikba seems pensive. He says he wants to be a soldier when he grows up, not a doctor, as Khaidir suggests. The reason is understandable. "I don't want to do that. I'm afraid of the ghosts from all of those dead bodies," he says.
Despite their smiling faces, the ghosts that will surely haunt these children for years to come.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SHUBERT: Now, one of the good parts of the story is that Aceh's strong culture, the extended family and the community here is taking in a lot of these children whose parents are still missing or children who have been orphaned. And in that sense, UNICEF says, that's a very good sign, because those children need to be part of a community and extended family where they feel comfortable -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A little bit of good news there.
That's Atika Shubert reports for us from Banda Aceh.
Atika, thanks a lot.
Appreciate that.
A reminder now. At 10:00 p.m. Eastern time our special report. It's called "Saving the Children." It's hosted by Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour. This evening, I'll have the story of a family torn apart by the waves; united, though, but their determination. This is a story of one little girl's courage. It's called "Saving the Children," our special tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad.
Seven minutes past the hour now.
The number of dead Americans has now more than doubled. The State Department believes as many as 36 Americans were killed by the tsunamis. Most of the casualties in the country of Thailand. Right now, inquiries about 2,600 Americans still pending. But that number continues to fluctuate by the day.
A short time ago I talked with Maura Harty.
She's the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.
I asked her if the number of missing Americans would likely decline, possibly today.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MAURA HARTY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CONSULAR AFFAIRS: I don't think that we're going to see anywhere near that number by the time we are done. We are going to keep grinding this number down every way we can. And, in fact, as we make calls back, not only to people who have made an inquiry to us, but now to -- in pulling passport records of people who are the subjects of inquiries, we're finding a number of people who are not only home, but who expressed some real appreciation for the fact that we have reached out to them.
I believe, sir, that in quite a large number of cases, American citizens who have traveled back from a vacation don't, in fact, know that they're the subject of an inquiry. And so during the day, as out task force works, and well into the evening, as well, making these calls and diving down and drilling down through the information available to us, we're finding an awful lot of people who say to us how very pleased they are and appreciative of the State Department's efforts.
But, no, in fact, they were perhaps in the region, but nowhere near the scene of the disaster.
HEMMER: It appeared yesterday that Secretary of State Colin Powell was quite frustrated, given the fact that so many Americans were looking for information and the media, on the other hand, was trying to define what this number stands for.
Has he given you instructions how to operate differently to make sure this process moves quicker?
HARTY: Secretary Powell and I have had any number of conversations and I brief him several times a day on our progress in this matter. He has not expressed frustration with our efforts. We all share the very common goal of wanting to get down to the smallest number that we can and to know all that is knowable just as quickly as we can.
HEMMER: So, just to be clear, he hasn't told you that he's frustrated.
Is that what you're saying? HARTY: Secretary Powell has not said to me he's frustrated. We have articulated together the common goal of getting to as much information as we can as quickly as we can. We share that goal.
HEMMER: Also...
HARTY: All of us working on the task forces share that goal.
HEMMER: It appears that the country of Sweden is doing a much better job in trying to get a handle on its number and its unaccounted for and its missing.
What would explain why that country can do it better or even faster than the U.S. is doing it today?
HARTY: I'm not entirely sure that I would agree that the country of Sweden has done a better or a faster job. They've done a different job. They may have started with different data. I'm not entirely sure as to whether or not, how Sweden keeps records, whether or not it's got an exit system so that they know exactly how many people might have left their country and where they had gone.
Swedes may have, in fact, been on package tours or traveled in large numbers to specific hotels. They may simply keep records differently. We don't ask Americans to tell us where they're going when they leave the United States. That leaves us with a little bit of a challenge when something like this occurs.
I'd like to ask, though, for a moment, to ask people watching this show, when they travel overseas in the future, to consider what we are learning and seeing during this terrible tragedy. Sixty million visits by Americans are made overseas annually. I would love all Americans who travel overseas to log into our Web site, travel.state.gov, and register with us when they plan an overseas trip. I'd also like the four million Americans resident overseas to do the same thing. It is not for any reason but to be able to put family members' minds at ease should the unspeakable happen and an American citizen traveling abroad encounter a disastrous situation or in some way come into harm's way.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HEMMER: Maura Harty earlier today from the U.S. State Department.
They're also asking people if you need more information, you want to update information or questions about family members, this is a 24 hour hotline set up in D.C., 888-407-4747, in case you need to use that number.
We want to get you back to Sri Lanka right now by way of telephone.
The U.S. Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, has arrived there in Sri Lanka.
He's not only the head of the Senate, but he's also a physician.
And, Senator, we spoke here on this program two days ago, Tuesday morning. Your big concern was fresh water before you left.
Have you been able to determine whether or not the fresh water is getting to the people that need it most at this point?
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Well, we've had a remarkable day, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today and have had the opportunity to visit refugee camps, schools where there are hundreds of people crowded in. We've tooled around the southern coast, as well as the eastern coast and the devastation is every bit as bad as people say.
In terms of water itself, the primary problem is that the saline water or the salty water has spilled over into all the wells. So there is an acute lack of potable drinking water. Today, there is no outbreak of cholera or diarrheal diseases and that is the real concern. So I'm right now much more relieved than I was two days ago, although I just met with the prime minister of the country and in a few minutes we'll be meeting with the president of the country.
We, once again, will be reviewing this potential for a disaster after the disaster. But today it has not occurred.
HEMMER: Senator, from half a world away, this is what we're trying to understand about the situation you are now seeing on the ground. Colin Powell yesterday said, "I have a much better understanding now of what it will take to complete the recovery effort."
Do you echo his sentiments? And, if so, what will it take to help repair the damage that you're seeing now?
FRIST: Well, I think Secretary Powell is right. Being on the ground, being able to look the survivors in the eye, to tour the hospitals or the clinics and see young people who have lost their parents for reasons they either broke a bone or got a cut, was that they were searching for their parents frantically over a period of 48 hours, that's what we're up against.
To the long-term challenge here, there's going to be more than a week, a month or a year. One is going to be the psychological impact of having a tragedy like this that is going to scar the psyche of the people of Sri Lanka and, indeed, around the world. I'm not sure exactly how we can deal with that, other than to reach out, express our empathy, sympathy and carry on an ongoing conversation. And it's like this reconstruction, 100,000 homes, 100,000 homes have to be reconstructed here in Sri Lanka alone over the next year, a year and a half.
HEMMER: Yes, senator, quickly here, if you were to go back to the U.S. Senate -- I know you have not been on the ground there in Sri Lanka very long -- but if you were to tell your follow senators about what you saw on the ground and what they need the most, would it be the help in the psychological area? Would it be the reconstruction effort? Would it be money? What would you say to your fellow senators now?
FRIST: Well, right now it is going to be working hand in hand in partnership with private companies and the NGOs and the government. Our government has led boldly. Our Marines are coming in. Right now we have 12,000 military personnel around in all of the countries responding. We're going to have to continue to do that in terms of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it is going to take an investment, a long-term (UNINTELLIGIBLE) policy that we need to look at the potential for debt forgiveness so that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But, again, it would be the oneness of mankind working one on one that eventually, with leadership at all levels, government and non-government.
HEMMER: Good luck to you in your travels.
That's the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, on the ground there in Sri Lanka, in the capital city of Colombo.
He was with us two days ago. He's on the ground now. He says as a physician, he wanted to see it firsthand so he could understand the needs and take it back to his Senate colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Senator, thank you, and travel well again there in Sri Lanka.
Back here in New York, we want to say again good morning to Heidi Collins.
The rest of the news and the headlines there, and there are many, too -- good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there are, of course, as always.
Now in the news today, a new report shows a possible link between some U.S. medical personnel and the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. According to a report published today in the "New England Journal of Medicine," American doctors in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay may have helped create interrogation strategies using detainees' medical records. The Pentagon has denied that detainees' medical records were used to harm them.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate today expected to confirm White House domestic policy chief Margaret Spellings as education secretary.
In two hours, agriculture secretary nominee Mike Johanns faces questions about U.S. policy on Canadian beef imports. He's also expected to be approved.
Coming up, we'll go live to Capitol Hill for what's in store for Alberto Gonzales, the president's choice for attorney general.
To your health now, two new studies have found lowering cholesterol may not be enough to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The research suggests patients should try to reduce levels of C Reactive Protein, which is linked to inflammation of the arteries. Those concerned can get a blood test for CRP levels from their doctors. We're going to have much more on this coming up next hour. And details of the studies are published in the "New England Journal of Medicine."
We want to go ahead and check on your weather now.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest forecast -- hi, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Is your home town the fittest or the fattest? A new report has an answer on which city is the healthiest. We'll get to it in a moment.
COLLINS: Also, President Bush draws up a plan to tackle rising health care costs. But is he treating the right symptoms?
HEMMER: Also, will old memos haunt Alberto Gonzales during his confirmation hearings that start today? One senator ready to ask the tough questions. Dick Durbin my guest next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for attorney general. Democrats are expected to hold the White House counsel's feet to the fire during this confirmation hearing. Republicans say, though, it's just politics as usual in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: He's done a terrific job down there at the White House. He's been open, fair, honest and intelligent. I suspect that they'll try and rough him up a little bit because it's really the president they're after. And that would be a shame. But I have no doubt that he's going to be confirmed as attorney general of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin will be among those doing the questioning today.
And Senator Durbin is my guest now from Capitol Hill.
Good morning to you, Senator, and thank you for your time.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: Will Alberto Gonzales be the next attorney general of the U.S.?
DURBIN: Well, I think he is likely to be confirmed, but we have some important questions to ask. The revulsion of the American people to what we saw at Abu Ghraib Prison was not partisan. Across-the- board, Americans said how could this happen on our watch by our soldiers? And some argued that it was just the case of renegade night shift soldiers. Others said no, it went much deeper, that it really went to the top when decisions were made about changing the torture policy of America.
That decision was made by Mr. Gonzales in the White House. He commissioned the study which redefined torture for America, over the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and the joint chiefs of staff. That's going to lead to some important questions at this hearing.
HEMMER: And that is a pretty strong charge, too.
Are you saying this morning that Alberto Gonzales is responsible for the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib?
DURBIN: I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that he has to answer important questions about why we decided, after 9/11, to change the torture policy of the United States of America that had been in place since the administration of President Abraham Lincoln. Why we decided that we had to step away from the Geneva Conventions, which had been basically the law of this land, followed by us and counted on by us when our soldiers were held in captivity in Vietnam and other places.
HEMMER: You heard what Orrin Hatch said. He says Democrats are trying to find a way to get to the White House, to get to the president.
Is that the case?
DURBIN: Well, we have to ask questions about White House policy when it comes to something this basic. We have to ask whether Judge Gonzales and those in the White House decided that the rules of war that had applied for more than a century needed to be changed. And we have to ask whether or not those decisions made in the White House, followed through by the Department of Defense, passed through to Iraq, eventually found their way into the Abu Ghraib Prison cells and those terrible images which we can't forget.
HEMMER: Let me get back to my first question. You said it is likely he will be confirmed.
Does that mean Democrats are not ready to turn away the first Hispanic for attorney general in the United States?
DURBIN: My feeling is that ultimately Judge Gonzales will be confirmed. But I hope it will be after an open hearing where he discloses completely, as much as possible in terms of national security, what was involved in critical decisions.
Now, we've talked about the torture memo. There are a lot of questions that'll be asked about his role as adviser to then Governor Bush when it came to capital punishment in the State of Texas.
These are all very important questions to be asked of the man who wants to be attorney general.
HEMMER: That hearing starts this morning.
Dick Durbin, the senator from Illinois.
Thank you, Senator, for your time this morning.
We'll certainly watch the hearings today, starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, a little more than an hour from now.
DURBIN: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: We'll keep an eye on it for you from Capitol Hill and bring you live coverage, as well -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Much of the country getting a bitter blast of wintry weather. But is this just the beginning? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to the aid question and Jack, The Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
The United Nations taking over the multinational tsunami relief effort. They're being given billions of dollars to distribute in the form of humanitarian aid in six different countries. But the U.N. is also currently being investigated for the mismanagement of the $64 billion Oil For Food Program in Iraq. Early indications are that Oil For Food became one of the most corrupt enterprises ever.
Here's the question. Should the U.N. be leading the tsunami relief effort amidst investigations into its mismanagement of other humanitarian aid programs?
Rex in Toronto writes: "Is the U.N. perfect? Of course not. But no human endeavor is. It should, at the very least, be permitted to do the job for which it was created."
Peter in Houston: "Pure, unmitigated nonsense. Here's a failed organization that has blown it in Rwanda, in Bosnia and in Iraq. Its Oil For Food Program stole money from the mouths of the poor. Now it wants to coordinate an effort to feed another poor people."
Lisa in Nashville, Tennessee: "Jack, you're way out of line with your assertion that the U.N. is corrupt and therefore is not the best choice to handle tsunami aid. That whole phony Oil For Food scandal has been puffed up, blown up and over inflated by right-wingers such as yourself to discredit the United Nations."
Jerry in Rogers, Arkansas: "Jack, now, who do you think we ought to let oversee this program? I bet you say France. If we're to have a United Nations, use it and monitor." And Jason in Hartsdale, New York: "Yes, the U.N. is an essential apparatus to world relations. It does need reform, but many things do."
HEMMER: Right-winger? I think you're a populist.
CAFFERTY: Everybody has an opinion.
HEMMER: That they do. Everybody has a bellybutton, too.
CAFFERTY: A belly -- well, you might know more about that than I would. I haven't checked on that.
HEMMER: Well, watch for the phrase competitive compassion. We're starting to see this come out right now. And the U.S. went to $350 million, Japan went to, what, $500 million?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Australia went to $765 million.
CAFFERTY: Can we...
HEMMER: And then Germany after that.
CAFFERTY: Can we get any more politicians over there? I mean, you know, isn't Congress supposed to be in session in this country working on, you know, the problems? I think we have one or two here in this here. I mean what is it exactly that the politicians are doing over there...
HEMMER: Well, he is a physician.
CAFFERTY: ... besides walking around doing appearances on places like the news networks so they can get their face on TV?
HEMMER: Like AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Back in a moment here.
It is a grim task made harder by the conditions. How do you identify the victims without tools like x-rays and dental records? A forensic expert explains the challenges in a moment when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 6, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The head of the U.N. makes an urgent appeal to the world -- pay what you promised now, or thousands more could die.
The number of Americans believed killed in the tsunami doubles. Why is it taking so long to even know who's missing?
In the U.S., snow, ice, wind and rain. Americans working up to a nasty winter storm. And things could get nasty on Capitol Hill. Alberto Gonzales wants to be the nation's attorney general. The hearings begin on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, everybody.
The pictures you're looking at this morning from Banda Aceh. The scope of the disaster there in Indonesia really boggling the mind. Aid workers are trying to reach some of the survivors. It is a monumental task, to say the very least.
Also this morning, children, as you well know, among the many victims of this tsunami, now children also are orphaned. What happens to those children? A report on that is ahead this morning.
Plus, local relief efforts now. Are the Thai people getting what they need? More on that this morning, as well -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Soledad.
Thanks.
And good morning back here in New York, as well.
We'll get to Soledad in a moment here again, back there in Phuket. But we want to bring you up to date right now on what we have today.
Reporters all over the region again today, throughout the day, into the evening hours, with the very latest on the rescue and the aid efforts. The new developments this morning now, at 8:00 here in the East.
World leaders pledging to work together at a summit that took place in Jakarta, Indonesia. The U.N. chief, Kofi Annan, says nearly a billion dollars is needed to get through the next six months. He needs it in cash, he says. Leaders also called for implementing a tsunami warning system in the area. The European Union adding $132 million to the nearly $4 billion pledged so far. And the confirmed number of tourists killed has gone up again, 368. Sixteen Americans confirmed dead. Twenty more are presumed dead, bringing that number now to 36.
The World Health Organization says $60 million is needed right now, as well, for 150,000 people now considered at extreme risk for disease or epidemic. There are also signs, too, positive signs, from Indonesia. Organization now improving and the U.N. feels confident that relief could reach 800,000 people who are in need of help now on the island of Sumatra.
Let's get back to Soledad again now in Phuket.
O'BRIEN: A little nugget, Bill, of good news there.
Well, documents that might one day help identify some of the thousands who are missing in the tsunami's wrath here in Phuket, Thailand are being collected by a group called the International Victim Coordination Center. They've been flooded with requests until now. It's pretty much gotten to a trickle. The volunteers now sort of outnumbering the number of people who are assistance. And so one worker there says they're thinking about closing their doors. That center usually open from 8:30 in the morning until about 9:00 at night, not getting much attention now, as the days pass. We're in day 11 of the tsunami's wrath.
The tsunami, of course, claiming thousands of lives of children, left thousands more orphaned. Many are now living in camps for the homeless. UNICEF is trying to reunite these children with some relatives, but as you can imagine, that task is just huge.
CNN's Atika Shubert has a look at that.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, we followed around today government officials as well as UNICEF workers as they try and set up post centers at these displacement camps to register and identify children. But as you say, it is an incredibly difficult task.
Here's what we found today.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SHUBERT (voice-over): Children play amid the wreckage, while a government team picks its way through. Their mission? To identify children whose parents have gone missing in the disaster.
Together with the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, the government is trying to register tens of thousands of displaced children in the hope they can be reunited with family.
AMANDA MELVILLE, UNICEF: It's to try to prevent not only the issue of trafficking of children, but also to prevent very well meaning people from taking the children and putting them in institutions in other countries or in other parts of Indonesia, where -- and without -- and later it could be very hard to find them.
SHUBERT: In each camp, the faces of the missing are plastered everywhere, most of them children. Parents line up at UNICEF clutching pictures of their sons and daughters.
(on camera): In this camp, there are makeshift shelters and there are makeshift families. In these two tents, a hovelled together community of neighbors who have lost their homes, mothers who have lost their children and children who have lost their parents.
(voice-over): Twelve-year-old Ikba (ph) was registered with UNICEF by Khaidir Syamsul. They seem like father and son, but it was only by chance that Ikba was away from his family, playing near Khaidir's home when the tsunami struck. It saved Ikba's life, but his family is gone. Khaidir has taken him in. "We're his parents as long as he's in this camp," he tells us. "We don't allow him to be left alone in silence and my kids like him. Honestly, I couldn't give him away now even if someone wanted to adopt him."
While other children play, Ikba seems pensive. He says he wants to be a soldier when he grows up, not a doctor, as Khaidir suggests. The reason is understandable. "I don't want to do that. I'm afraid of the ghosts from all of those dead bodies," he says.
Despite their smiling faces, the ghosts that will surely haunt these children for years to come.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SHUBERT: Now, one of the good parts of the story is that Aceh's strong culture, the extended family and the community here is taking in a lot of these children whose parents are still missing or children who have been orphaned. And in that sense, UNICEF says, that's a very good sign, because those children need to be part of a community and extended family where they feel comfortable -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A little bit of good news there.
That's Atika Shubert reports for us from Banda Aceh.
Atika, thanks a lot.
Appreciate that.
A reminder now. At 10:00 p.m. Eastern time our special report. It's called "Saving the Children." It's hosted by Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour. This evening, I'll have the story of a family torn apart by the waves; united, though, but their determination. This is a story of one little girl's courage. It's called "Saving the Children," our special tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad.
Seven minutes past the hour now.
The number of dead Americans has now more than doubled. The State Department believes as many as 36 Americans were killed by the tsunamis. Most of the casualties in the country of Thailand. Right now, inquiries about 2,600 Americans still pending. But that number continues to fluctuate by the day.
A short time ago I talked with Maura Harty.
She's the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.
I asked her if the number of missing Americans would likely decline, possibly today.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MAURA HARTY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CONSULAR AFFAIRS: I don't think that we're going to see anywhere near that number by the time we are done. We are going to keep grinding this number down every way we can. And, in fact, as we make calls back, not only to people who have made an inquiry to us, but now to -- in pulling passport records of people who are the subjects of inquiries, we're finding a number of people who are not only home, but who expressed some real appreciation for the fact that we have reached out to them.
I believe, sir, that in quite a large number of cases, American citizens who have traveled back from a vacation don't, in fact, know that they're the subject of an inquiry. And so during the day, as out task force works, and well into the evening, as well, making these calls and diving down and drilling down through the information available to us, we're finding an awful lot of people who say to us how very pleased they are and appreciative of the State Department's efforts.
But, no, in fact, they were perhaps in the region, but nowhere near the scene of the disaster.
HEMMER: It appeared yesterday that Secretary of State Colin Powell was quite frustrated, given the fact that so many Americans were looking for information and the media, on the other hand, was trying to define what this number stands for.
Has he given you instructions how to operate differently to make sure this process moves quicker?
HARTY: Secretary Powell and I have had any number of conversations and I brief him several times a day on our progress in this matter. He has not expressed frustration with our efforts. We all share the very common goal of wanting to get down to the smallest number that we can and to know all that is knowable just as quickly as we can.
HEMMER: So, just to be clear, he hasn't told you that he's frustrated.
Is that what you're saying? HARTY: Secretary Powell has not said to me he's frustrated. We have articulated together the common goal of getting to as much information as we can as quickly as we can. We share that goal.
HEMMER: Also...
HARTY: All of us working on the task forces share that goal.
HEMMER: It appears that the country of Sweden is doing a much better job in trying to get a handle on its number and its unaccounted for and its missing.
What would explain why that country can do it better or even faster than the U.S. is doing it today?
HARTY: I'm not entirely sure that I would agree that the country of Sweden has done a better or a faster job. They've done a different job. They may have started with different data. I'm not entirely sure as to whether or not, how Sweden keeps records, whether or not it's got an exit system so that they know exactly how many people might have left their country and where they had gone.
Swedes may have, in fact, been on package tours or traveled in large numbers to specific hotels. They may simply keep records differently. We don't ask Americans to tell us where they're going when they leave the United States. That leaves us with a little bit of a challenge when something like this occurs.
I'd like to ask, though, for a moment, to ask people watching this show, when they travel overseas in the future, to consider what we are learning and seeing during this terrible tragedy. Sixty million visits by Americans are made overseas annually. I would love all Americans who travel overseas to log into our Web site, travel.state.gov, and register with us when they plan an overseas trip. I'd also like the four million Americans resident overseas to do the same thing. It is not for any reason but to be able to put family members' minds at ease should the unspeakable happen and an American citizen traveling abroad encounter a disastrous situation or in some way come into harm's way.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HEMMER: Maura Harty earlier today from the U.S. State Department.
They're also asking people if you need more information, you want to update information or questions about family members, this is a 24 hour hotline set up in D.C., 888-407-4747, in case you need to use that number.
We want to get you back to Sri Lanka right now by way of telephone.
The U.S. Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, has arrived there in Sri Lanka.
He's not only the head of the Senate, but he's also a physician.
And, Senator, we spoke here on this program two days ago, Tuesday morning. Your big concern was fresh water before you left.
Have you been able to determine whether or not the fresh water is getting to the people that need it most at this point?
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Well, we've had a remarkable day, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today and have had the opportunity to visit refugee camps, schools where there are hundreds of people crowded in. We've tooled around the southern coast, as well as the eastern coast and the devastation is every bit as bad as people say.
In terms of water itself, the primary problem is that the saline water or the salty water has spilled over into all the wells. So there is an acute lack of potable drinking water. Today, there is no outbreak of cholera or diarrheal diseases and that is the real concern. So I'm right now much more relieved than I was two days ago, although I just met with the prime minister of the country and in a few minutes we'll be meeting with the president of the country.
We, once again, will be reviewing this potential for a disaster after the disaster. But today it has not occurred.
HEMMER: Senator, from half a world away, this is what we're trying to understand about the situation you are now seeing on the ground. Colin Powell yesterday said, "I have a much better understanding now of what it will take to complete the recovery effort."
Do you echo his sentiments? And, if so, what will it take to help repair the damage that you're seeing now?
FRIST: Well, I think Secretary Powell is right. Being on the ground, being able to look the survivors in the eye, to tour the hospitals or the clinics and see young people who have lost their parents for reasons they either broke a bone or got a cut, was that they were searching for their parents frantically over a period of 48 hours, that's what we're up against.
To the long-term challenge here, there's going to be more than a week, a month or a year. One is going to be the psychological impact of having a tragedy like this that is going to scar the psyche of the people of Sri Lanka and, indeed, around the world. I'm not sure exactly how we can deal with that, other than to reach out, express our empathy, sympathy and carry on an ongoing conversation. And it's like this reconstruction, 100,000 homes, 100,000 homes have to be reconstructed here in Sri Lanka alone over the next year, a year and a half.
HEMMER: Yes, senator, quickly here, if you were to go back to the U.S. Senate -- I know you have not been on the ground there in Sri Lanka very long -- but if you were to tell your follow senators about what you saw on the ground and what they need the most, would it be the help in the psychological area? Would it be the reconstruction effort? Would it be money? What would you say to your fellow senators now?
FRIST: Well, right now it is going to be working hand in hand in partnership with private companies and the NGOs and the government. Our government has led boldly. Our Marines are coming in. Right now we have 12,000 military personnel around in all of the countries responding. We're going to have to continue to do that in terms of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it is going to take an investment, a long-term (UNINTELLIGIBLE) policy that we need to look at the potential for debt forgiveness so that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But, again, it would be the oneness of mankind working one on one that eventually, with leadership at all levels, government and non-government.
HEMMER: Good luck to you in your travels.
That's the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, on the ground there in Sri Lanka, in the capital city of Colombo.
He was with us two days ago. He's on the ground now. He says as a physician, he wanted to see it firsthand so he could understand the needs and take it back to his Senate colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Senator, thank you, and travel well again there in Sri Lanka.
Back here in New York, we want to say again good morning to Heidi Collins.
The rest of the news and the headlines there, and there are many, too -- good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there are, of course, as always.
Now in the news today, a new report shows a possible link between some U.S. medical personnel and the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. According to a report published today in the "New England Journal of Medicine," American doctors in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay may have helped create interrogation strategies using detainees' medical records. The Pentagon has denied that detainees' medical records were used to harm them.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate today expected to confirm White House domestic policy chief Margaret Spellings as education secretary.
In two hours, agriculture secretary nominee Mike Johanns faces questions about U.S. policy on Canadian beef imports. He's also expected to be approved.
Coming up, we'll go live to Capitol Hill for what's in store for Alberto Gonzales, the president's choice for attorney general.
To your health now, two new studies have found lowering cholesterol may not be enough to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The research suggests patients should try to reduce levels of C Reactive Protein, which is linked to inflammation of the arteries. Those concerned can get a blood test for CRP levels from their doctors. We're going to have much more on this coming up next hour. And details of the studies are published in the "New England Journal of Medicine."
We want to go ahead and check on your weather now.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest forecast -- hi, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Is your home town the fittest or the fattest? A new report has an answer on which city is the healthiest. We'll get to it in a moment.
COLLINS: Also, President Bush draws up a plan to tackle rising health care costs. But is he treating the right symptoms?
HEMMER: Also, will old memos haunt Alberto Gonzales during his confirmation hearings that start today? One senator ready to ask the tough questions. Dick Durbin my guest next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for attorney general. Democrats are expected to hold the White House counsel's feet to the fire during this confirmation hearing. Republicans say, though, it's just politics as usual in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: He's done a terrific job down there at the White House. He's been open, fair, honest and intelligent. I suspect that they'll try and rough him up a little bit because it's really the president they're after. And that would be a shame. But I have no doubt that he's going to be confirmed as attorney general of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin will be among those doing the questioning today.
And Senator Durbin is my guest now from Capitol Hill.
Good morning to you, Senator, and thank you for your time.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: Will Alberto Gonzales be the next attorney general of the U.S.?
DURBIN: Well, I think he is likely to be confirmed, but we have some important questions to ask. The revulsion of the American people to what we saw at Abu Ghraib Prison was not partisan. Across-the- board, Americans said how could this happen on our watch by our soldiers? And some argued that it was just the case of renegade night shift soldiers. Others said no, it went much deeper, that it really went to the top when decisions were made about changing the torture policy of America.
That decision was made by Mr. Gonzales in the White House. He commissioned the study which redefined torture for America, over the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and the joint chiefs of staff. That's going to lead to some important questions at this hearing.
HEMMER: And that is a pretty strong charge, too.
Are you saying this morning that Alberto Gonzales is responsible for the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib?
DURBIN: I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that he has to answer important questions about why we decided, after 9/11, to change the torture policy of the United States of America that had been in place since the administration of President Abraham Lincoln. Why we decided that we had to step away from the Geneva Conventions, which had been basically the law of this land, followed by us and counted on by us when our soldiers were held in captivity in Vietnam and other places.
HEMMER: You heard what Orrin Hatch said. He says Democrats are trying to find a way to get to the White House, to get to the president.
Is that the case?
DURBIN: Well, we have to ask questions about White House policy when it comes to something this basic. We have to ask whether Judge Gonzales and those in the White House decided that the rules of war that had applied for more than a century needed to be changed. And we have to ask whether or not those decisions made in the White House, followed through by the Department of Defense, passed through to Iraq, eventually found their way into the Abu Ghraib Prison cells and those terrible images which we can't forget.
HEMMER: Let me get back to my first question. You said it is likely he will be confirmed.
Does that mean Democrats are not ready to turn away the first Hispanic for attorney general in the United States?
DURBIN: My feeling is that ultimately Judge Gonzales will be confirmed. But I hope it will be after an open hearing where he discloses completely, as much as possible in terms of national security, what was involved in critical decisions.
Now, we've talked about the torture memo. There are a lot of questions that'll be asked about his role as adviser to then Governor Bush when it came to capital punishment in the State of Texas.
These are all very important questions to be asked of the man who wants to be attorney general.
HEMMER: That hearing starts this morning.
Dick Durbin, the senator from Illinois.
Thank you, Senator, for your time this morning.
We'll certainly watch the hearings today, starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, a little more than an hour from now.
DURBIN: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: We'll keep an eye on it for you from Capitol Hill and bring you live coverage, as well -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Much of the country getting a bitter blast of wintry weather. But is this just the beginning? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to the aid question and Jack, The Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
The United Nations taking over the multinational tsunami relief effort. They're being given billions of dollars to distribute in the form of humanitarian aid in six different countries. But the U.N. is also currently being investigated for the mismanagement of the $64 billion Oil For Food Program in Iraq. Early indications are that Oil For Food became one of the most corrupt enterprises ever.
Here's the question. Should the U.N. be leading the tsunami relief effort amidst investigations into its mismanagement of other humanitarian aid programs?
Rex in Toronto writes: "Is the U.N. perfect? Of course not. But no human endeavor is. It should, at the very least, be permitted to do the job for which it was created."
Peter in Houston: "Pure, unmitigated nonsense. Here's a failed organization that has blown it in Rwanda, in Bosnia and in Iraq. Its Oil For Food Program stole money from the mouths of the poor. Now it wants to coordinate an effort to feed another poor people."
Lisa in Nashville, Tennessee: "Jack, you're way out of line with your assertion that the U.N. is corrupt and therefore is not the best choice to handle tsunami aid. That whole phony Oil For Food scandal has been puffed up, blown up and over inflated by right-wingers such as yourself to discredit the United Nations."
Jerry in Rogers, Arkansas: "Jack, now, who do you think we ought to let oversee this program? I bet you say France. If we're to have a United Nations, use it and monitor." And Jason in Hartsdale, New York: "Yes, the U.N. is an essential apparatus to world relations. It does need reform, but many things do."
HEMMER: Right-winger? I think you're a populist.
CAFFERTY: Everybody has an opinion.
HEMMER: That they do. Everybody has a bellybutton, too.
CAFFERTY: A belly -- well, you might know more about that than I would. I haven't checked on that.
HEMMER: Well, watch for the phrase competitive compassion. We're starting to see this come out right now. And the U.S. went to $350 million, Japan went to, what, $500 million?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Australia went to $765 million.
CAFFERTY: Can we...
HEMMER: And then Germany after that.
CAFFERTY: Can we get any more politicians over there? I mean, you know, isn't Congress supposed to be in session in this country working on, you know, the problems? I think we have one or two here in this here. I mean what is it exactly that the politicians are doing over there...
HEMMER: Well, he is a physician.
CAFFERTY: ... besides walking around doing appearances on places like the news networks so they can get their face on TV?
HEMMER: Like AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Back in a moment here.
It is a grim task made harder by the conditions. How do you identify the victims without tools like x-rays and dental records? A forensic expert explains the challenges in a moment when we continue after this.
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