Laura Bush urges Myanmar to accept U.S. disaster team

By Matt Spetalnick and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush urged Myanmar's military rulers on Monday to accept a U.S. disaster response team that so far has been kept out, saying it would clear the way for broader relief in the wake of a devastating cyclone.

Making an unusual foray into foreign policy, Mrs. Bush, an outspoken critic of Myanmar's generals, also accused the junta of failing to warn its citizens in time about the approaching cyclone that has been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, an impoverished Southeast Asian country under heavy U.S. sanctions, authorized the release of of $250,000 in immediate emergency aid, and Laura Bush promised, "More aid will be forthcoming."

But she made clear that Myanmar must first let in a State Department disaster assistance response team to assess the situation.

The scale of the devastation from Saturday's cyclone has drawn a rare acceptance of outside help from Myanmar's diplomatically isolated generals, who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

But it may be harder for Myanmar to open up to the United States, which maintains heavy sanctions against the junta.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said a disaster response team was "standing by and ready to go into Burma," now known as Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for 46 years.

"I understand it the Burmese government has not given them permission to go into the country. ... My understanding was they had asked for permission but the initial response from the government was that they weren't inclined to let them in," Casey told reporters.