Meanwhile the Washington Post reports that President Bush is also being criticized for failing to address the devastation caused by the tsunami.

Bush has been vacationing at his ranch in Texas and–unlike German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder–has decided not to cut his vacation short. Bush has not even spoken publicly yet about the tragedy.

The Post reports some foreign policy specialists accused the president of communicating a lack of urgency about an event that will loom as large in the collective memories of several countries as the Sept. 11 attacks do in the United States. Leslie Gelb of the Council on Foreign Relations said, “When that many human beings die — at the hands of terrorists or nature — you’ve got to show that this matters to you, that you care.”

Middle East analyst Juan Cole writes that Bush has lost a unique opportunity to reach out to the Muslim world by showing compassion in a time of tragedy. Indonesia, one of the nations hardest hit, is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Cole writes “If Bush were a statesman he would have flown to Jakarta and announced his solidarity with the Muslims of Indonesia.”

The White House has announced that Bush will conduct a National Security Council meeting today by teleconference to discuss several issues, including the tsunami. One White House official attempted to explain Bush’s silence by saying: “The president wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts. He didn’t want to make a symbolic statement about 'We feel your pain.'” But another official described Bush’s silence as “kind of freaky.”