Bush Leaves for Tour of Africa

Bush, on his first trip to Africa, is seeking to promote his brand of "compassionate conservatism" on the world’s poorest continent and hoping to put a kinder, gentler face on American foreign policy. But unrest, including civil war in Liberia, may eclipse the president's humanitarian agenda, as demands for more American military muscle in the region grow.

In planning the president's trip many months ago, Bush’s advisors had hoped to use the opportunity to show Washington’s softer side after waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his visit, Bush will visit five African nations which are being presented as the continent’s success stories: Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria.

Thus, Bush arrives in Africa bearing gifts: $15 billion (€13 billion) for an anti-Aids program, $10 billion in increased aid for countries that fight corruption and open their markets, and $100 million for counter-terrorism efforts in eastern Africa. Bush told CNN International prior to his departure that, "It's very important for the United States to not only show its muscle to the world, but also it's heart."

Tough Talk for Defiant African Leaders

However, recent events on the continent may well call for more military intervention and could overshadow Bush's trip. A few nations have plunged into chaos, requiring outside help. The United Nations, with help from France, Germany, and other members of the EU, has sent a peacekeeping force to Congo, where ethnic militias have been battling since Ugandan peacekeeping forces left in May. UN Secretary General has Kofi Annan has turned to the US for additional support.

Elsewhere, the Americans are taking the lead, resulting in a tense game of brinkmanship prior to the Bush's departure. In Liberia, Bush has called for the nation's president, Charles Taylor, to step down. Taylor is wanted by a UN-backed Special Court and is accused of war crimes for supporting rebels in Sierra Leone during a 10-year civil war. What's more, Taylor has been unable to quell the civil war ravaging his country, raising the possibility of direct U.S. military intervention.

Taylor has agreed to step down and accept exile in Nigeria, however, he has made his departure contingent on an orderly transition, which will certainly require a U.S.-backed peace-keeping force to extinguish the civil war. Washington has sent a fact-finding mission to Liberia, but has not yet reached a decision.

The Bush administration is also confronting another African leader, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. After accusations of rigged elections last year, the U.S., along with opposition groups within Zimbabwe, are pushing for greater democracy in the troubled country.

New interest in Africa?

During his campaign for the presidency, Bush showed little interest in Africa, famously saying, "While Africa may be important, it doesn't fit into the national strategic interests, as far as I can see them." His secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, has echoed these comments on more than one occasion, repeating them at a press conference as recently as last week. He said that the US has "no vital interests" within Africa. So what's changed?

Clearly there are those within the Bush administration who don't share Secretary Rumsfeld's opinion. Some have credited the interest in African affairs to two high-profile African Americans within the Bush administration, National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell, both of whom have advocated that the US take a more active role on the troubled continent.

"Africa is part of America's history," Rice told Reuters prior to the president's departure. "Europeans and Africans came to this country together, Africans in chains. And slavery was, of course, America's birth defect. And we've been trying to deal with the consequences of it ever since."

An alternative explanation may be the changing nature of America's definition of "national interest" after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Security experts are now eager to take a role in unstable countries that could potentially harbor terrorist activity. And after Bush's controversial intervention in Iraq, they are also eager to show that the United States is not ignoring the world's poorer nations as it concentrates on the war on terror.

Critics Skeptical of Bush's Motivations

But some critics -- in Africa and elsewhere -- are wary of Bush's sudden interest in the continent, and less willing to credit lofty humanitarian aspirations. Others on the continent resent what they perceive as Bush's heavy-handed measures, chalking his trip up to short visit for a few days where he gives orders.

Some are encouraged by America’s renewed interest in Africa, but lament Bush's agenda is too focused on U.S. business interests – the region is a huge market for the United States and Nigeria has large oil reserves, which could offset the United State's reliance on other OPEC countries.

Indeed, the president's "Millennium Challenge Account", the $10 billion in increased aid, is tied to whether or not African countries take steps to fight corruption and open their markets. Bush is expected to highlight the advantages of globalization for developing African nations. Globalization, and liberalized African markets, certainly hold certain advantages for American businesses.

And Zimbabwe’s Mugabe, the object of Bush's criticism, has fought back, warning America not to get involved in his country's affairs. At a rally of his supporters, Mugabe said: "If he is coming to dictate to us how we should run our countries, then we will say, go back. Go home Yankee."