In Africa, Bush denies intent to build bases

Reuters
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
ACCRA, Ghana: President George W. Bush reassured Africa on Wednesday that the United States was not planning to build new military bases there and played down the risk of rivalry with China for influence on the continent.

Speaking in Ghana on the fourth leg of a five-nation African tour, Bush said the U.S. military command for Africa, Africom, created last year, was intended to help African leaders solve the continent's crises, not augment the U.S. military presence there.

"We do not contemplate adding new bases. In other words, the purpose of this is not to add military bases," Bush said at a joint news conference with the president of Ghana, John Kufuor.

"That doesn't mean that we won't try to develop some kind of office in Africa," Bush said. "We haven't made our minds up. It's a new concept."

The Bush administration created Africom with the aim of bolstering security on the continent, already a major supplier of crude oil to the American market.

U.S. officials talked initially of plans to move the Africom headquarters to Africa, but African opposition led Washington to change course and say that Africom would not bring any more U.S. troops or bases to the continent.

A base for 1,800 U.S. troops already exists in the east African country of Djibouti.

Bush said the United States and China, whose growing influence in Africa is seen by some Western diplomats as undermining efforts to encourage good governance, could both pursue opportunities there without stoking rivalry.

China has ramped up its investment across Africa in recent years in return for access to oil, metals and other raw materials to fuel its rapidly expanding economy.

"I don't view Africa as zero sum for China and the United States. I think we can pursue agendas without creating a great sense of competition," Bush said. "Do I view China as a fierce competitor on the continent of Africa? No I don't."

Bush met Kufuor in a former slave fort by the Atlantic Ocean, which millions of Africans crossed in chains on their way to the Americas. Thousands lined the streets to greet him, including children waving the flag of Ghana.

The imposing former trading fort was built by European colonists and is now more generally known as "The Castle," the seat of government in the former British "Gold Coast" colony.

Ghana's thriving economy, built on gold and cocoa exports and the promise of oil production within three years, and its stable democracy, which stands out in volatile West Africa, have made it a darling of Washington and other donors.

During his tour, Bush has backed efforts to solve crises in Kenya and Darfur. But his itinerary, taking in Benin, Tanzania and Rwanda, has sought to highlight success stories on a continent often portrayed as a morass of crises and conflict.

Bush's support for multibillion-dollar anti-malaria and anti-AIDS projects in Africa has earned him a warm reception there despite widespread condemnation of his foreign policy toward Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

In Ghana, Bush unveiled a $350 million, five-year plan to fight neglected tropical diseases that cause misery for millions of people on the world's poorest continent.

Ghana is a leading recipient of U.S. aid in Africa, and gets $547 million in U.S. assistance under a five-year program managed by the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation.

On Thursday, Bush visits Liberia, the first republic in Africa, formed by freed slaves from America in 1847.