President Bush In Africa
Yes, President George W. Bush’s recent trip to Africa probably had plenty of ulterior motives.
Consider this: there’s a lot of untapped oil on the continent…oil that U.S. energy officials estimate will provide one-quarter of America’s oil imports in the next decade.
But still…
On this trip to Africa, Bush didn’t bomb civilians to get the oil.
And he didn’t wax paranoid over terrorists, insurgents, and Al Qaeda.
And he didn’t play a guitar while people died in the aftermath of a hurricane.
Instead, what he did was respectfully offer help, encourage friendship, and — no kidding — save millions of lives.
In Who-ville terms, the Whos might say the Grinch’s small heart grew about three sizes. In America, most people said Where the HELL has THIS Bush been for the last seven freakin’ years?!
A Compassionate President…Finally
Yes, there is still much to find fault with, like Bush’s abstinence-only approach to AIDS prevention. But there is a lot to be proud of, like his increasing aid from $15 billion to $30 billion over the next five years. Granted, $30 billion is only a few months worth of Iraq War spending, but it’s much more than any other American president’s set aside for Africa.
Reading about Bush’s Africa trip here, I was surprised to learn that since Bush took office, he’s quadrupled humanitarian aid to the African continent. And, on this trip, Bush announced another gift from America: every child in the country up to the age of five will get a bed net, which at $5 a pop is a no-brainer that will save millions and millions of children from malaria.
Again, where has THIS president been for the last seven years?!
So, if you’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a leader genuinely loved by foreigners, and if you’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a leader speak of hope and unselfish solutions instead of preaching fear and never-ending war, you can catch a refreshing glimpse watching a very good trip slideshow at the link below.
White House slideshow: President Bush’s Trip to Africa.
Read More: George W. Bush, Africa, AIDS, Malaria, USAID
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March 5th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Somebody forgot to tell him that legacy building begins on inaugeration day, not when you are getting ready to walk out the back door. Better late then never, I guess.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:53 am
I’m such a cynic most of the time I feel I should be doing some apologizing. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for a good reason.
Joe, I think you are correct to suspect Bush’s motivations.
Africa is full of dictatorships, which we like, since it makes business investments more secure. It is hard to give money to support these kinds of governments, but put it on the books of a humanitarian cause and get out the camera’s and it looks like nice window dressing. Who follows the money after the camera’s are put away? Sure doubling aid looks good. But this is about “obligating” dictators. Since when did we ever set up an office to ensure worker health, safety, freedoms and respect when we went in and pillaged their natural resources?
There is a multi-nation mad rush on to secure a piece of the pie in Africa. We are a little late to the party, so we have to play catch up. That means making amends, making friends, etc.
I guess the aid and nice words can also go onto the very short list of things that Bush is trying to bolster as his “Legacy”…but again; Motivation is suspect and given our track record for decades, this looks right out of the “Economic Hitman” playbook.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Pelmo: Better late than never…sort of sums up my own feelings, and I would add “better late than never, BARELY.” :-)
Xman: Thanks for dropping back in the comment section! You know, cynicism has its place. The massive amount of whipped cream spin the White House and the propaganda puppets (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc…) put out require a lot of cynical viewpoints if an overal balance is going to be achieved. And, they’re well ahead in the optimistic smoke department, so I don’t think there’s any reason to hold back, or apologize.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Ah! IT pains me to see people apologize for using good judgment.
Being wise to yet another scheme is not cynical, it’s knowing better.
I think it’s BS, and I’m not a cynic. How much of the 30B is going to be siphoned off in the beaurocratic process? I’m sure this money is going straight to pharmaceutical friends, and/or it’s only allowed to be spent on a narrow field of drugs and treatments that are probably more dangerous than helpful, more experimental than proven. Or: what a great way to dominate and imperialize: create a disease, infect the continent with it, then string them along for decades on various ‘treatments.’ These are just ideas, I really don’t know exactly why they did this, but IMO, there’s no point in trying to interpret anything our administration does as compassionate in anyway. The highest cartel has the perfect puppet in office, they’re not going to let him waste their time and money on compassionate acts.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:48 am
The U.S. Government has never given out handouts to 3rd and 4th world countries without expecting to receive MUCH more in return.
As soon as our representatives start looking as though they are acting altruistically, folks on the receiving end better head for the hills, because we are about to take over and take their stuff, whatever it is that our robber barons want.
Mosquito nets, or beads and blankets, the trinkets offerred mean nothing in comparison to what will be taken.