Bush Administration on a Collision Course with Africa

Press release, Africa Action, Wednesday 2 July 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan 202-546 7961

Media Briefing reveals Bush policies antithetical to Africa’s interests; President Bush misleading American public with empty promises to Africa

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 (Washington, DC)—Ahead of President Bush’s first official trip to Africa next week, four leading advocacy organizations held a press briefing this morning to examine the current state of U.S. Africa policy. Africa Action, TransAfrica Forum, 50 Years is Enough and Foreign Policy in Focus hosted the briefing, in which a panel of African-American and African experts offered a critical analysis of Bush Administration policies on key issues in U.S. Africa relations.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action said this morning, American unilateralism is at odds with African efforts to gain international cooperation to address the most urgent global priorities—such as AIDS, poverty and civil conflict—which have the most devastating consequences in Africa.

Speaking about Africa’s AIDS crisis, Booker said, The $15 billion commitment President Bush announced this year to fighting AIDS in Africa is a cruel hoax because none of this money is being made available now. Faced with this most deadly global threat, the Bush Administration continues to stall and its empty promises are costing thousands of African lives every day.

Critiquing U.S. trade relations with Africa, Bill Fletcher Jr., President of TransAfrica Forum, said this morning The U.S. pursues trade policies that are at odds with Africa’s interests. The Bush Administration is driven more by a cynical preoccupation with securing oil reserves than with matters of promoting genuine economic development.

Njoki Njoroge Njehu, Director of 50 Years is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice, said this morning, Africa’s debt crisis is the largest obstacle to the continent’s development and to the fight against AIDS. The U.S. has a moral responsibility to demand that the creditors of Africa’s debts find a solution to this crisis. But the Bush Administration is ignoring this urgent African priority.

Emira Woods, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus, spoke about U.S. military relations with Africa, declaring, The Bush Administration’s National Security Strategy and its decision to play global cop is fundamentally a doctrine of reckless endangerment for Africa.

For a more detailed analysis of U.S. policies toward Africa and for recommendations on U.S. policy priorities, see the Africa Action report Africa Policy for a new Era: Ending Segregation in U.S. Foreign Relations, available at http://www.africaaction.org/featdocs/afr2003.htm