The U.S. government, led by President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, added another US$20 million on 28 December to the original U.S pledge of US$15 million, bringing the total up to US$35 million (not including direct aid rendered by naval vessels dispatched to the region). Initially, the U.S. Navy dispatched P-3C Orion patrol aircraft and an aircraft carrier to assist with relief operations. On 31 December the US pledge was increased tenfold to US$350 million, with President Bush saying that that amount would probably increase further. President Bush also signed a decree ordering flags to be flown at half-mast during the first week of the new year. During the early period of the response to the tsunami, concerns were voiced in various quarters that the international relief effort might falter if nations did not honour their initial pledges. On 3 January 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged donor nations to ensure that their pledges were fully honoured, pointing to previous cases where "we got lots of pledges, but we did not receive all the money". On 5 January, as countries jockeyed to make large donations, Jan Egeland said, "I'd rather see competitive compassion than no compassion", adding that too many countries were making pledges without any guarantee that the funds would arrive. Following the earthquake the previous year in Iran in Bam which killed 26,000 people, Iranian officials claimed to have received just US$17.5 million of the US$1 billion originally pledged. In mid-March 2005, the Asian Development Bank reported that the provision of over US$4 billion in aid promised by governments was behind schedule. Sri Lanka criticised the nations and organisations that clamoured to pledge donations, "Not a penny had come through yet. We are doing the relief work with our government money. Sri Lanka is still waiting for the money pledged by the donors. Money pledged by the people has been pledged to the NGOs." Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, stated in a BBC interview, "A lot of aid what has been coming in latterly is I'm afraid – I'm sorry to say – not very useful. For instance there was a container full of teddy bears. They're obviously given with good will, nobody says no to that." The patience of tsunami affected nations was being stretched: "Now the government had worked out a scheme that until 26 April everything that has come, everything