President Bush’s five nation tour of Africa was chiefly to bring to the notice of Americans that the Bush presidency is much more than Iraq. He avoided trouble spots like Kenya and Darfur, because the trip was to highlight the success stories of US aid to African countries to fight disease.
It seems to be an unqualified success as the gushing Tanzanian president said he wished the next US president would turn out to be as good as the present one. Bush also used the trip to make it clear to Africa that the US was not going to set up Africom bases in the continent. Such a notion is distasteful to most African nations as they have not forgotten the ills of colonialism and they fear Africom is its newer version.
So Bush danced with African women, smiled and made many friends. That exactly was the aim of the visit. US wants to increase its influence in the continent. It is deeply worried by the deep inroads China has made here. The aim of the US is the same as that of the Chinese, oil. Africa seems to have become the new hunting field for the increasing scarce resource. China has made a head start. US wants to catch up.
What better way to do so than pour money for disease control. The presidential visit was part of the effort, to put a human face to the good image that the US is trying to build up in Africa. That was the reason Bush avoided Kenya and Darfur. These are complex issues and a visit there would have obfuscated to a certain extent the main theme of the Bush’s African visit.
US has goofed up many times in Africa. The notable of them was the refusal of President Clinton to step into Rwanda and stop the genocide in 1994. It is to be seen to what extent the Bush visit erases that bad image and does a smiling Bush contribute anything to stem the Chinese tide in Africa.
Source: IHT
