U.S. military almost done with emergency relief in South Asia

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - U.S. military commanders said Saturday they have nearly completed their emergency relief missions in the tsunami-battered areas of Thailand and Sri Lanka and could withdraw the bulk of American troops within two weeks. But the devastated western coast of Indonesia could need foreign military assistance for some time, they said.

Briefing Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who is on a whirlwind trip to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka this weekend, the commanders said they are dealing with "mind-boggling" destruction in Aceh province on the northwestern tip of Sumatra island and are still assessing the population's need for food, water and medical care. Parts of a major highway have been washed away, preventing them from reaching isolated communities that could be in dire need of help, they said.

Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Blackman, who commands a multinational support force based in U-Tapao, Thailand, told Wolfowitz that the mission in Indonesia required "daily maintenance" and that a "fog of relief" was still being sorted out. In the briefing, Blackman said an assessment was underway of nearly 50 sites in Sumatra where the World Health Organization has reported that some survivors are just now streaming back down from the mountains into makeshift, spontaneous settlements near landing sites for helicopters bringing food and supplies.

"This assessment may be the most valuable thing we will have done," Blackman said. He added that the evaluation should help move relief efforts to the recovery phase, which largely will be handled by civilian and private organizations.

Wolfowitz met with government leaders in Bangkok early Saturday morning before visiting soldiers at the U-Tapao air base, which was used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, and on the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier about 10 miles off the coast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Wolfowitz, who served as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia in the late 1980s, then surveyed the damage by helicopter.