GREGORY: Good morning.

We want to bring you up to date on all of the developments out of Haiti. It has been five days since the devastating earthquake hit that island nation, the latest estimates from the Haitian government, 50,000 bodies have already been recovered and the death toll is likely to be between 100,000 and 200,000. Our preliminary Red Cross estimate puts the total number of affected people, affected Haitians at 3.5 million.

As the focus now moves from rescue operations to the massive task of trying to get food, water and shelter to desperate survivors, all of this as there are increasing reports of looting and intensifying violence.

We will hear from former Presidents Bush and Clinton in just a moment on their joint fundraising efforts and how they are committed to a long-term rebuilding effort in this country of so much need.

But first, let's get the very latest this morning on rescue and relief operations and for that we are joined in Port-au-Prince by Lieutenant General Ken Keen, a three-star general who is heading up the U.S. military relief evident on the ground and here in Washington by Dr. Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Welcome to both of you.

Dr. Shah, let me begin with you, you were just in Haiti, just yesterday with Secretary of State Clinton. You had a chance to meet with officials of the government.

What is the latest? What is your assessment on the ground there?

SHAH: Well, I did have a chance to go to Haiti yesterday and it's just a reminder of what you articulated, that this has been a tremendous tragedy, that three and a half million people have been affected; perhaps even more. There's been significant loss of life. And there's been significant degrading of the basic infrastructure: roads, the airport was inaccessible, the port has been destroyed.

And so it's a challenging, challenging situation. But the president immediately after this happened pulled the cabinet together and ordered a swift, aggressive and comprehensive and coordinated response and that's what we've been in the process of doing. Going to Haiti yesterday was a chance to visit with the brave Americans who are part of that response.

GREGORY: How big is this death toll going to be? Do you have any sense of that?

SHAH: Well, we have no reason to contradict the numbers that you were articulating and that we've all heard. And I think we'll get a lot more information as we are more active in collecting bodies and as we're doing more of the recovery and rescue and you know, getting through the buildings and through the debris.

GREGORY: You say rescue. Is it still possible to find more people alive?

SHAH: Absolutely. This is still an active rescue operation. We -- as the U.S. government we were the first government to send rescue teams on the ground, in fact, a team from Fairfax County, Virginia that I had a chance to meet with were the first ones to reach there. They established a site of operations at the airport and helped coordinate and discharge the responsibilities of almost 30 other teams that came in from around the world.

We have more than -- almost 400 Americans actively involved in urban search and rescue, these are teams with real capabilities, with specialized equipment, with lighting. They work overnight and they are really heroes. I had a chance to meet with them yesterday. They saved dozens of people, mostly Haitians and they are very committed and they are actively involved in rescues.

GREGORY: General Keen, let me turn to you down in Port-au- Prince. Your priorities: food, water, safe shelter. How's it going?

KEEN: Well sir, we had a very good day yesterday. In getting out, delivering supplies, we delivered over 130,000 rations and 70,000 bottles of water. But that's just the beginning. We're going to do better every day.

GREGORY: The -- some of the challenges you face right now according to officials on the ground is the potential for real chaos, for anarchy. What is the role the government is playing right now and that the military is playing in trying to secure Haiti?

KEEN: Well, security is an inherent responsibility of providing humanitarian assistance. We need a safe and secure environment to be successful. But fortunately we have a United Nations Mission here, which has been doing this for several years. But this is a disaster of epic proportions, they are transitioning into humanitarian assistance operations as well and security is a concern.

Yesterday our experience was that there is calm on the streets. We had a very good encounter with the Haitian population as we delivered humanitarian assistance, but as you noted, there is increasing incidents of security and we are going to have to deal with it as we go forward.

GREGORY: How many U.S. troops will be required to keep Haiti secure?

KEEN: Well, I don't know how many it's going to take. But we're going to do it in conjunction with the United Nations. Today I have over 1,000 troops on the ground in Haiti. We're increasing it with a focus of getting our humanitarian supplies out to the people and doing so with security in mind and looking at this as we go forward to do just what you said, get a better understanding of what we need to get and address the entire population that's been affected by this disaster.

GREGORY: There has been a lot of concern -- as we hear a helicopter in the background there -- about flights getting into Haiti and whether they were able to get in immediately to provide needed supplies. There was frustration on that account between countries like the U.S. and some of our partners in all of this.

"The New York Times" reported this about some concerns that the world food agency, the World Food Program had. "There are 200 flights," the Times reported, "going in and out every day which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti said Jerry Emmanuel the air logistics officer for the World Program's Haiti effort. But most of those flights are for the U.S. military, their priorities are to secure the country, ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync."

Are those priorities in sync now?

KEEN: Well, I think the priorities are in sync but it's a balance. It's a balance between getting the quantities of relief supplies that are so desperately needed, getting the logistical and people here that we need to get those supplies out to the area as well as getting these forces here that you need for security.

And we've got to balance all of those and we're working very closely with the United Nations and the government of Haiti to balance those priorities and get the things on the ground.

As you noted, the airport is our main logistical hub. We are working aggressively to open up other ways to get in here. The ports are part of that. But other surrounding airports such as in the Dominican Republic, hopefully we can see progress made to have other avenues to get supplies in.

GREGORY: Dr. Shah, the -- one of the things you'll hear in my interview coming up with Presidents Bush and Clinton, President Bush saying after Katrina, one of the things he learned is it takes time to get supplies in.

There is frustration about how long it's taking to get supplies into Haiti already. What should we expect time-wise and what are the repercussions of taking additional time when you've got a country that's so physically unstable?

SHAH: Well, look. We're aware that we're racing against the clock. And that is why when the president asked us to have a swift and coordinated response we didn't hesitate. We immediately began at the U.S. Agency for International Development and with partners from across the government -- FEMA, DHS and a number of others -- we immediately mobilized resources, food items, commodities, like health and medical kits and started sending those down to Haiti as soon as we possibly could.

As the general mentioned the airport was inoperable originally because the control tower had been out. And it was harder to get things in. It was an important first step for the military to secure the airport. And we've entered into an arrangement with the Haitian government so they were facilitating the operation of that airport which has allowed for a significant expansion of capacity there and allowed for commodities and other personnel and other goods to come in.

I also wanted to mention, as you've mentioned the point about the World Food Program, I've spoken with the executive director of the World Food Program about this. We are working in coordination with the U.S. Military and with international partners like WFP. A lot of those planes that are military C-130 aircraft are delivering supplies that are then going to NGO partners and other critical civilian partners for the people of Haiti.

One example is we recently sent three major water production and purification units because that's an immediate priority, making sure the people have access to water. Each of those produced 100,000 liters of water a day. We're sending a fourth in and we have six on the way from a warehouse in Dubai.

So, even though they might enter in on military aircraft, those are often civilian commodities and commodities for the people of Haiti. And we're just using whatever is the best means and most effective means to get it there quickly.

That was a direct guidance from the president to do whatever it takes to get supplies and services in as fast as you possibly can.

GREGORY: General Keen, just under a minute left here, I want to ask you what role does the U.S. government and military have to play here going forward, given the disorganized state of the government because of the state of Haiti. Will the U.S. have a role in running that country for some period of time?

KEEN: Well, we're not going to be running the country. We're going to be in support of the government of Haiti working along side the United Nations. Our first priority is getting water and food and other supplies out to the Haitian people and doing that in a safe and secure environment. It is a disaster of epic proportions, and with tremendous logistical challenge as you noted.

Final point, Dr. Shah, your priorities; I know this is measured in hours, not just days. What are your priorities now?

SHAH: Our priority up to now has been urban search and rescue. That will continue because this continues to be an active rescue operation. Our immediate priorities especially for the next week are significantly scaling up the flow of health and medical supplies, improving water access and distribution for the people of Haiti that had been affected. And making sure we get food into as many different neighborhoods and points as possible.

Every day we're doing more than the day before. We need that continued exponential growth. The good news is we're very focused on it. We have tremendous support from the president whom we're in contact with regularly and all parts of the U.S. government including the military which is a critical needed asset to make sure we can reach affected populations, are working aggressively together to make this happen.

GREGORY: General Keen, Dr. Shah, thank you both very much and continued good luck.

SHAH: Thank you.

KEEN: Thank you, David.

GREGORY: I want to turn to NBC's Kerry Sanders who is also in Port-au-Prince this morning.

Kerry, you're reporting over the past several days has been so emotional, so first person; you have been covering Haiti for so many years. Give me a sense of what you're seeing and what it's like there.

KERRY SANDERS, NBC CORRESPONDENT: Well, chaos is the one word, but the good news is it appears that that chaos is beginning to, perhaps, have order maybe by the end of today. That's because the U.S. military has 600,000 humanitarian meals that they are actually getting to the people now and the food and the water that they needed so desperately is there. Once that's in place, some of the other things can start shaping up here.

GREGORY: In my interview with Dr. Shah this morning he said a little bit unexpectedly I think that that window is still open to find survivors, which is something in search and rescue operations you've seen first-hand.

SANDERS: And an amazing story this morning. We followed yesterday with a team from Turkey and from south Florida. They are looking for folks inside a supermarket that collapsed and this morning, Mariel Ditma (ph), the 45-year-old woman who was here, her children in south Florida anxiously not sleeping, got that most wonderful phone call that their mother had won the lottery. She was found inside an air pocket in there. After about 108 hours they were able to pull her out alive, along with two others, a 13-year-old girl and a little boy.

They are still looking for more folks there as well as the team from the New York fire department. Good news can still be had, they say.

GREGORY: Kerry finally, that level of frustration and desperation on the streets, give me a sense of what that's like now. There are some supplies that are reaching people. But it's taken some time.

SANDERS: It's taken some time and you know, people are so anxious that when they see things they grab at them and the strongest win.

So, it's been a little difficult on that front. Of course, this is a huge, concentrated city and trying to get it to 3 million people is a real challenge. So, if you can get it into one street you may help some people. But this is a vast area that needs help and quite frankly, difficult to get to in many cases.

GREGORY: All right. Kerry Sanders who's in Port-au-Prince at the airport. You can hear all the activity behind him which is actually the best sign of flights coming in and supplies beginning to reach that island nation.

Coming next, in an interview yesterday at the White House Presidents Bush and Clinton talk about their commitment to the rebuilding effort in Haiti and what they are calling on Americans to do to help ease the human suffering there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GREGORY: We're back. Yesterday, in the Rose Garden President Obama announced that former Presidents Bush and Clinton had agreed to lead a major fundraising effort for relief and rebuilding in Haiti.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: By coming together in this way these two leaders send an unmistakable message to the people of Haiti and to the people of the world. In these difficult hours America stands united. We stand united with the people of Haiti, who have shown such incredible resilience and we will help them to recover and to rebuild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY: After their meeting with President Obama the two former presidents agreed to MEET THE PRESS in a joint interview about Haiti and only Haiti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREGORY: Let me start asking you both, President Bush what is your biggest concern right now?

BUSH: My biggest concern is that the Haitian people have security, water and food.

GREGORY: Those are big ifs right now.

BUSH: Well, they are but the president briefed us about military efforts to get food and water to the people and surging a lot of material, it's going to take a little bit of time to get it there. But I came away from the briefing confident it's going to happen.

GREGORY: President Clinton, the basics are so important.

CLINTON: Right. This is about water, food, medical supplies and care, and shelter, secure shelter. I have protection concerns but we were just told in the briefing that 40 percent of the Haitian police force has signed back in, volunteered for duty. A lot of them don't have uniforms or weapons or anything anymore but the American military is working closely with the U.N. troops that are there. And they'll get this organized. They're doing a good job. We just need more help. We literally don't have enough food to feed them now. We don't have -- and there are two issues. One is buying it and the second is getting it in and distributing it but that's what everybody's working on now.

GREGORY: Beyond the initial rush does there have to be some kind of U.N./U.S. temporary government? Do we have to have a role in running the government for a time?

CLINTON: Well, I don't think we have to have a role in running the government but we have to have a role in helping them to do things that require an organization that no longer exists.

For example, Hillary yesterday morning negotiated an agreement with the Haitian government for our military to operate the airport at Port-au-Prince for three days subject to renegotiation. They didn't have the people to do it any more. So now they can keep it up for 24 hour a day, they can make good judgments about who should land according to priorities.

They'll have things to do for some time. I understand that President Preval has asked former Prime Minister Pierre Louis to coordinate the reconstruction. If so that's good news. She and the current prime minister are both very able people and they'll tell us what they need. I think the rest of us will do it.

GREGORY: President Bush, President Obama promised a long-term American commitment. What does that mean?

BUSH: Well, that means that after the devastating scenes get off television there are people around to remind the American people it's important to help this country rebuild, really what it means.

Both of us have been through crises. There is this initial stage of trauma and major media focus, but you'll end up focusing somewhere else after a while. That's normal.

And our job is to remind people there is an ongoing need. We'll do that. That's part of the purpose of our fund is to say to the American people, rebuilding is a long term project.

GREGORY: As special envoy you've talked about having a big role in the long-term development, to restore Haiti to what it was. What's it going to take and how long is it going to take to restore it back to what it was and what kind of Haiti is that?

CLINTON: Well, first of all we're not -- before this earthquake we weren't talking about restoring it. We were talking about building a whole new country. And there was a government plan that they developed in cooperation with the U.N. But it was their plan.

And what I believe will happen is they will take all of this devastation into account, all of the work that has to be done and they'll rewrite their plan and they'll put it as part of building a new country. So, I think that what we want the do is to see people be part of building something -- to use President Bush's terms -- building something stronger that it's not just enough to rebuild.

They're committed to that and I think that based on my meetings with donors, with the private sector, with investors, everybody that was helping them before feels even more strongly they ought to continue to do it.

GREGORY: President Bush, what about skeptics. This is a country that has such a history of political dysfunction, societal dysfunction. Look at its neighbor, the Dominican Republic so much better off. Should that be a factor, a part of the conversation about how much is given, that resistance to change, the fact that aid on a massive scale has not proven to lift countries like Haiti out of poverty?

BUSH: Well, I think this. First of all, the initial thrust of aid is going to save lives. That's really important. Secondly, as President Clinton mentioned there is a strategy in place to help Haiti build in a different direction.

And in other words, learn the lessons from the past and focus what will work in the future. I think it's going to be very important for our country never to give up on Haiti. Obviously it's OK to ask whether or not the plan is going to make sense. But we shouldn't abandon our neighbor down there. There's just too much human suffering that has taken place and can continue to take place if we neglect Haiti.

GREGORY: President Clinton, look at our experience, almost a trillion dollars in trying to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, the money that's poured into Haiti. Why does Haiti matter strategically?

CLINTON: Because number one, it has the highest age rate in the Caribbean and our neighbors, we don't want them spending money on crushing health burdens if they can avoid it.

Number two, it's the poorest in the Caribbean. And it's holding the whole region back and the Caribbean and Central America, Latin America, they all want to help now. For the first time in my life time they are committed to being good partners with Haiti.

And number three, they actually have shown a willingness to change, to improve their own circumstances. And therefore, if they could succeed where they have failed for 200 years, that would change our idea of what is possible, not just here but in Africa, in East Asia and everywhere else.

They're not in -- this government has not made excuses, they said we know we've made mistakes in the past, we want to make changes. I have seen them make several changes since I've been working. That's worth it all over the world.

GREGORY: President Bush, what did you learn in your government's response to the tsunami, to the disaster response to Katrina? What lessons did you learn that this administration should bear in mind?

BUSH: First of all, it takes time to get the supplies in place. That shouldn't deter them. There's an expectation among people that things are going to happen quickly. Sometimes it's hard to make things happen quickly.

Secondly, there is a great reservoir of good will that wants to help and that's why he asked us to help. We're glad to do it. I need to put a pitch in for the Clinton/Bush Haiti fund.org.

One of my concerns around any crisis is that shysters show up and take advantage of people's good will and generosity. So therefore people want to help, one avenue besides the established NGOs would be to tap on to that Web site and we'll help make sure your money is spent in a transparent, accountable way.

GREGORY: In some circles the president has been criticized for politicizing this disaster. Do you think that's fair?

BUSH: I don't know what they are talking about. I've been briefed by the president about the response. As I said in my opening comment, I appreciate the president's quick response to this disaster.

GREGORY: President Clinton, why does it take a disaster of this scale and magnitude away from the United States to create this kind of bipartisanship?

CLINTON: Well, I think that when something like this happens inside the United States we act in the same way.

I think that it reminds us of our common humanity. It reminds of the needs that go beyond fleeting disagreements. Whatever our policy disputes are don't seem to matter much when people are dying and hungry and sick. I think it's just a natural human response.

Just as people's disagreements are a natural human response and in normal times can be healthy. It wouldn't be healthy for America if, in normal times, we had no political debates. And it would be perverse if in a time like this we let lesser matters keep us from joining hands.

GREGORY: President Bush, you're back.

BUSH: Indeed. It's a little nostalgic. I'm glad I've come back for this purpose. I must confess I really -- I miss you as a person but I don't miss the spotlight.

GREGORY: I think I'll take that as a compliment. Good luck to you both. Thank you.

BUSH: Thank you

CLINTON: Thank you so much.