Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa

Washington Post ^ | 31 December 2006 | Michael Fletcher

[shrinkermd]

President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort by his administration in foreign affairs: a dramatic increase in U.S. aid to Africa.

[ClarenceThomasfan]

I can't believe how cold-hearted and stingy some Conservatives are. They are the ones who give Republicans a bad name.

'For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
—Deuteronomy 15:11

Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
—Proverbs 3:9-10

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
—Proverbs 11:25

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed.
—Proverbs 19:17

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
—Proverbs 21:13

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
—Proverbs 22:9

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
—Matthew 6:3-4

[Czar]

"...full well knowing that many in his party would be disappointed or angry."

I'm one of them.

Bush continues to be a very big disappointment. His legacy may well be the sinking of the good ship GOP. Abandoning conservatives produced the recent midterm election results. Nice work, Bush/Rove/Mehlman.

[fish hawk]

When we give millions and billions to other countries, does anyone actually know where it goes and if it does any good or what politicians of that country are stealing it for themselves? K.Annan and Co. comes to mind.

[Dead Corpse]

What ever happened to "give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life".

If you really want to be compassionate, you teach them to fish. You do not keep giving them MY fish. Keep doing that, and you are taking fish out of my children's mouths.

Impoverish me to make yourself feel better and I've got nothing left to lose. You really don't want that...

[Jaysun]

I don't see how spending billions of dollars on Africa equates to "caring".

I don't agree with sending more money to Africa. But what else would equate with "caring" if not that? Is he supposed to send them Christmas cards or fly over there and read them stories?

[hedgetrimmer]

There is nothing 'conservative' about the global socialism you are preaching, and the global socialism that the president is practicing.

Donate your OWN money, which is what the Lord is asking YOU to do. DO NOT STEAL from others to assauage YOUR conscience, or to LINE YOUR POCKETBOOK with your foreign investments!

[jamese777]

"I'd personally contribute to Ethiopia. They made my day this week."

According to the CIA World Factbook, Muslims are between 45-50% and Christians are between 35-40% of Ethiopia's population.

[Wiseghy]

I seem to recall fierce attacks in the press against the Administration for failing to put enough Africa spending in the '02 and '03 budgets. They were pretty ugly about his "hypocrisy" in promising a post 9/11 initiative against aids and poverty in Africa as part of the PNAC strategy of draining the swamps.

Gee, could it be that those attacks were UNFAIR and BIASED in light of this low-key, non-politial giving since?

It seems the administration was simply looking for effective programs amid all the corruption, instead of just throwing money to around to score short-term domestic points, as Democratic Administrations have done. The money has increased as they have found those programs.

[shrinkermd]

Yes, I remember those too. I think the President knows he is swimming upstream when he sends money to Africa for AIDS and other purposes. Part of the silence is probably by preference!

But I really do admire someone who does what he or she believes to be best regardless of the social ambiance he or she is enmeshed in. Bravo President Bush!

[KantianBurke]

Shame on US? No pal, shame on YOU! You conviently leave out one of those pesky 10 Commandments - THOU SHALL NOT STEAL!
Which is precisely what your holiness is doing with regards to these policies which by the way do NOT work, are unconstitutional and prevent solutions that can and do help the poor from being enacted.

On a related note, how much of your OWN money have you donated to said causes? Not a damn penny I'm willing to bet. Easier to argue for politicans to steal it from others rather than endure some personal sacrifices. Once again, shame on YOU!

[maui_hawaii]

BUMP THAT!

[AmeriBrit]

Did any of you whiners bother to look where this report came from??????

It's written by a sleezebag reporter for the WASHINGTON POST.

Why don't you all just cool your heels and wait until President Bush goes before the nation with his annual address instead of sounding and mouthing off like DUer's.

God Bless President Bush.

God Bless our troops.

God Bless America.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL"

[FlyVet]

Although I don't remember where it is, I believe there is also a Bible passage that says you don't give money foolishly. For instance, you don't send money to a corrupt TV preacher. (I don't think they are all corrupt, but many are.) You don't give money to some childrens' fund that has an 80% overhead.

The history of "aid" to these countries is rife with corruption. A shipload of food may sit on the docks for weeks, then illegally sold to enrich a dictator, so that he can fill his offshore accounts, bribe his military, build himself a new palace.

I voted for W twice, but sometimes his throwing massive amounts of money at problems with no accountability is sickening. Katrina, for example, and truckloads of US currency thrown around like candy in Iraq, for another example.

How is this going to be any different?

[little jeremiah]

I remember a while ago a great article by an African (can't remember country) who condemned "aid" to Africa, under the current circumstances. Most goes to line the pockets of fiendishly corrupt leaders, only increasing their power over the miserable people. Doesn't help anyone learn to help themselves, only keeps the wretched stew in the same condition.

If anyone remembers or finds this article, ping me.

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[little jeremiah]

Read the comment I just posted and the one above it by FlyVet. I'm not against helping people when it actually helps the people.

[FlyVet]

I didn't see the article, but I remember (I think it was) John Stossel of ABC who interviewed a couple of African journalists. They asked him, concerning all this aid to Africa, something like "Why do you do this to us? You do nothing but make our dictators stronger, who then torment our people all the more, because you give them the power to do so!"

I admired their guts greatly. I wonder if they are still alive.

It appears nobody is listening to them. I'm afraid the weakness of our pols is going to be the end of us. Mark Steyn's latest column "What we Need in New Year is Some Resolution" was truthful and very depressing. Weak, stupid, corrupt, feckless.

[EDINVA]

Bush does more for Africa than any former POTUS but can't get black vote

Bush does more for Israel than any former POTUS but can't get Jewish vote

Nothing wrong with THIS picture

[little jeremiah]

If I find the article, I'll ping out. It said exactly what we both said, from someone who knows.

[Don Joe]

Well not hundreds, not thousands but hundreds of thousands will receive life sustaining AIDS medications. I do think that is a worthy cause. It is also self-serving since epidemics don't respect national borders.

So explain to me again the net benefit of prolonging the lives of sexually active HIV carriers.