Clinton Reportedly Suffering From Exhaustion During South Asia Trip

Former President Clinton canceled a planned tour Saturday of tsunami-hit areas of the Maldives, but the reason was unclear. One U.N. official said the former U.S. leader was exhausted, while another said the cancellation was due to the weather.

Cherie Hart, the regional communications officer for the U.N. Development Program and the coordinator of Clinton’s visit, said the former president, who underwent a heart bypass operation in September, was “plain pooped and he wants to slow the schedule down.”

But Brenden Varma, a U.N. spokesman in New York, said Clinton had canceled the trip because of weather. “He is not exhausted,” Varma said. “He is doing fine, and he is going to continue with his busy schedule of meetings.”

Erskine Bowles, Clinton’s deputy, reiterated that the former president was fine. “He has worn me out, though,” Bowles told CNN. “There’s no letup in this guy.”

Clinton, recently named special United Nations envoy for tsunami recovery, did not meet survivors in the tropical archipelago off India’s southern tip Saturday as planned, but he expected to hold talks with business leaders and government officials today.

Those meetings, initially scheduled for this morning, have been pushed back to the afternoon to let Clinton rest, said a Maldives government spokesman, Ahmed Shaheed.

Clinton spokesman Jim Kennedy said the remainder of the former president’s trip was expected to continue as planned, with four meetings and a session with reporters in the Maldives today. He is scheduled to go to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Clinton in February as the world body’s point man for tsunami reconstruction, but a follow-up operation in March forced him to delay taking on the job.

Clinton said in April that he could undertake any activities, and doctors told him his stamina should return.

Clinton is on a four-day trip to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia to ensure that aid is being distributed properly.

In Sri Lanka, Clinton backed the president’s proposal for the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to jointly distribute foreign aid to tsunami victims.