Secretary of State Colin Powell still looked devastated by the scope of the tsunami damage in Indonesia, a country that is in no condition to offer its citizens “strong” capacity to overcome the consequences demonstrated by the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

"I’ve been in war and I’ve been through a number of hurricanes, tornadoes and other relief operations, but I have never seen anything like this," Powell said after he took a helicopter tour of the affected areas.
"I cannot begin to imagine the horror that went through the families and all of the people who heard this noise coming and then had their lives snuffed out by this wave," he said. "The power of the wave to destroy bridges, to destroy factories, to destroy homes, to destroy crops, to destroy everything in its path is amazing."

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush joined Powell in the expression of horror over what he saw. "It’s heartbreaking," he said.

The countries that support the rescue effort have already pledged $2 billion in aid. Over $350 million was donated by the Americans.

Powell had already mentioned that the aid campaign will serve to improve the US image on the global arena. Today he revealed more about the political motives underlying the charity effort.

"I hope that as a result of our efforts, as a result of our helicopter pilots being seen by the citizens of Indonesia helping them, that value system of ours will be reinforced," Powell said.

The Americans joined vigorously in the relief operations "because we believe it is in the best interest of those countries and it’s in our best interest," Powell said. "It dries up those pools of dissatisfaction that might give rise to terrorist activity."

"It turns out that the majority of those nations affected were Muslim nations," Powell said. "We’d be doing it regardless of religion, but I think it does give the Muslim world and the rest of the world … an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action."

The death toll from the disaster may surpass 150,000 lives.