Sunday, June 20, 2004

Bush and Africa

The same George Bush who opened the gates of the White House and welcomed Kibaki and dedicated a whole day and night to meeting Kibaki, even holding a banquet in his honor.

The same Bush who on May 27th 2003 signed in to law HR 1298 (US leadership against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of 2003), which promises $15 billion over the next 5 years. The same Bush who requested $2.7 billion dollars for the global war on AIDS for the FY 2005, a 22% increase in funding from years past (according to the Kaiser family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/hivaids/7029.cfm

The same Bush who informs his citizens of potential danger in various countries and there are around 50 countries that are considered to be dangerous, unfortunately Kenya, due to previous attacks, and lax security in one among the number.

Clinton never forwarded the Kyoto treaty for ratification by the senate and Bush simply did what Clinton was reluctant to do - withdraw the US's signature. Interesting tit bit, guess who also hasn't signed or ratified the treaty? ...KENYA. If the treaty was such a high priority Kenya should have signed it by now (the only member of the EAC not to have done so.

As for WMD, the onus was on Saddam to prove that he did not have the junk. Res. 687 (8,9,10,12) and about 10 other resolutions demanded that he do so. If he had no weapons or had destroyed them, then he should have given the international community all information regarding the estruction of the weapons. Moreover, it may still be possible to find the junk, in the past month some Sarin and chemical agents have been discovered and there is the potential that more will be found.

The same Bush who since he came to power and especially after 9/11 he has been pushing for peace in the Sudan and has pressured the government in Sudan to stay at the bargaining table. As for his taking credit for the peace, I would like you to substantiate that claim.

The same Bush who went against the wishes of his security detail and returned to the White House to address Americans and the world after the 9/11 attacks.

The same Bush who was the first American president to espouse an independent and free Palestine in co-existence with Israel.

The smae Bush who has liberated 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq, a people who are now beginning to enjoy the freedoms that you and I craved for under Kenyatta and Moi, and we now take for granted.

The same Bush that was able to force Libya to admit to its illicit WMD programs and to forswear support of terror groups. The same Bush who through the CIA was able to crack the nuclear trafficking of pakistani AQ Khan. The same Bush who has pressured Tehran into accepting IAEA monitors and North Korea to agree to multilateral talks.

The same Bush who did more than lob a few missiles into empty terror camps and an asprin factory, as a responnse to terror attacks.

The same Bush who extended and enhanced AGOA and created the Millenium Challenge Account, to give aid based on good governance and which has the potential to be beneficial to many African countries.

The same Bush who has set up a base in Djibouti to fight terror in the Horn of Africa and has afforded $100 million to the countries of the region.

The smae Bush who has met more African presidents than any American president in his first two years and has done more than give lip service to Africas problems.

1 Comments:

Blogger alexcia said...

Just having Bush and Africa in the same sentence is an oxymoron, much like "Life on Mars" or "African-American" or "Iraq Liberation" these are all political statements that appease those who invent them. Bush thinks Nigeria is a continent and Africa is, for all intents and purposes, one country except for those guys who have terrorist and corrption, but for him , as far as American foreign policy is concerned, they dont exist.

10:39 AM  

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