US misunderstood, says Bush
2008-02-21 07:28
Accra - US President George W Bush moved on to Liberia for the final stage of his tour of Africa on Thursday, insisting his country's intentions on the continent were misunderstood.
"I know there's rumours in Ghana - 'All Bush is coming to do is trying to convince you to put a big military base here.' That's baloney. Or as we say in Texas: 'That's bull'," Bush said. "We do not contemplate adding new bases."
"That doesn't mean we won't develop some kind of office somewhere in Africa. We haven't made our minds up. This is a new concept," he added, amid deep suspicion about a new US military command for the region, Africom.
On Thursday, Bush was to hold talks with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, whose country is the only candidate to host Africom.
The US Defence Department says it is centralising all US military and security interests on the continent - previously split among commands focused on Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific - into one.
Some African critics have tied the project to the fact that by 2015 Washington expects that 25% of the oil it imports will come from the continent, basically from the Gulf of Guinea.
But Bush rejected the premise: "It is a command structure that is aiming to help provide military assistance to African nations, so African nations are more capable of dealing with Africa's conflicts, like peacekeeping training."
He cited the joint African Union and United Nations effort in Sudan's Darfur region.
'Mission of mercy'
The US president also dismissed concerns about a growing US rivalry with China in Africa over access to the continent's oil, metals, and other raw materials, saying that Beijing was not a "fierce competitor".
"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 during a joint press conference with Ghana's President John Kufuor.
"Do I view China as a fierce competitor on the continent of Africa? No, I don't," Bush said.
Kufuor also said he accepted Bush's explanation on Africom and declared that it should "put paid" to the rumours that Washington seeks to expand its influence on the continent by constructing new military installations.
But his appeal to Bush to consider the plight of local cotton producers, squeezed by subsidised US cotton, was not directly answered.
At a formal dinner marking the end of Bush's visit to Ghana, Kufuor pressed Bush to slash the subsidies, which were dampening West African exports.
"I should appeal to you also, and to the United States government, to adjust its policies to accommodate the realistic plea of cotton-producing nations of West Africa, for many of whom the crop is the mainstay of their economy," he said.
The US president had no direct reply, but vowed to work to revive stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks launched at the Qatari capital Doha in 2001.
Earlier, Bush unveiled a new five-year, $350m plan to fight "neglected tropical diseases" including elephantiasis and river blindess worldwide. It was part of what he called a "mission of mercy".