Bush declares day of prayer for Katrina victims
Thu Sep 8, 4:18 PM ET
US President George W. Bush declared September 16 a national day of prayer
for
Hurricane Katrina's victims, while his spokesman warned that the death toll
would be "very ugly."
"We have many difficult days ahead, especially as we recover those who did
not
survive the storm," Bush said as he announced efforts to help the
survivors,
especially the hundreds of thousands left homeless.
"Throughout our history, in times of testing, Americans have come together,
in
prayer, to heal and ask for strength for the tasks ahead. So I've declared
Friday, September the 16th, as a national day of prayer and remembrance,"
he
said.
Bush did not directly address reports that government agencies have asked
media
outlets not to show pictures of the deceased, but he had ordered officials
"to
honor their memory by treating the dead with the dignity and respect they
deserve."
Earlier, White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to predict the
death
toll but forecast "a very ugly situation" when flood waters ebb from New
Orleans
and the number of casualties becomes clearer.
McClellan, asked about a Louisiana health official's revelation that some
25,000
body bags had been brought to the area, replied: "I'm not going to try to
speculate about any such numbers at this point."
"We have mortuary teams that are preparing for recovery of bodies. That is
a
priority," he told reporters. "It is going to be a very ugly situation when
those flood waters recede and we start to go in and recover bodies."
"Those are people who had families and friends and we hope everybody will
show
the proper dignity and respect," he said.
The comments recalled the administration's efforts to ban news photographs
of
caskets of soldiers killed in Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050908/pl_afp/usweatherbush_050908201842
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