US plans for new round of looting nations should be negated - Ahmadinejad

12 October 2008

Tehran-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to ongoing economic crisis in the United States here Saturday, adding, "World nations should remain alert and negate US plans for new round of looting nations aimed at saving the ailing US economy." IRNA Political desk quotes the Information website of the Presidential Office as reporting that the IRI President made the comment in a meeting Friday evening with the visiting Zanzibar President Amani Karume who arrived in Tehran atop a high ranking delegation earlier in the day for a six day visit.

President Ahmadinejad referred to the two countries' historic ties, reiterating, "Iran's relations with Zanzibar has roots in the two nations' cultures, beliefs, and histories, which is why we enjoy such strong bilateral ties that can still be further expanded comprehensively, relying on doubled efforts on both sides." The IRI President pointed out that the Iranian, Tanzanian and Zanzibar nations that are from civilization making centers of the mankind are blessed with the talent and capability to nurture and construct, adding, "Relying on expansion of bilateral cooperation we can take effective steps towards faster development of our countries." He noted that experience shows that the big powers would never take any move to secure the interests of the other nations and are rather after looting the wealth of them and humiliating the other nations, reiterating, "Keeping in mind such historic experiences, we need to construct our countries side by side of one another and relying on our own nations' hard work and perseverance."

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that the pressure imposed by big powers has provided a unique opportunity for the Iranian nation to achieve noticeable advancement in scientific, technological, industrial, commercial, and agricultural fields, adding, "We are now ready to share our experience in such fields with our brethren."

Referring to the bad economic situation of the United States once again, Ahmadinejad predicted that the US statesmen would in their bid to save their economy pay attention to Africa in near future and try to loot the African nations' wealth more than ever before.

He further elaborated, "Taking a look at the scene of the election campaign of that country easily shows that they are after getting access to cheap sources of energy and other wealth of the other nations in order to let themselves survive for a longer while, which is why nations should remain alert not get harmed in the aftermath of the probable malicious events due to the ailing US economy." The president emphasized, "Of course these powers have got so weak today that relying on some resistance and wisdom it is possible to negate their planning against our nations."

The President of Zanzibar's revolutionary government, too, said during the meeting that his country attaches special importance to relations with Iran, asking for expansion of comprehensive relations at all possible fields.

He said that he was deeply impressed having learned about what Iran has achieved in various fields, reiterating, "The Iranian ation has proved that it is a very serious people that can achieve peaks of advancement despite serious pressure and tough sanctions." President Karume emphasized that the big powers' planning for exertion of their hegemony over weak nations dates back to centuries ago, while they are still moving in the same direction, reiterating, Relying on remaining united with one another and resistance we can dismantle their plots and disturb their plans."

Africa: Why the Next United States President Won't Mean a Thing to Afrika Unless Part 2

COLUMN

3 October 2008
By Dr. Kwame Osei

At the same time that it laid waste to Angola, the U.S. ensured a similar fate for adjoining Mozambique, which also emerged from Portuguese colonialism in 1975. Here, the U.S., again through South Africa, backed the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) "an artificial armed engine of destruction," created by the intelligence service of the racist Ian Smith regime of Rhodesia (now independent Zimbabwe).

Even more vicious than UNITA, RENAMO committed massive atrocities against civilians and destroyed much of Mozambique's infrastructure in a 16-year long civil war with the left-wing government of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO).

One million people were killed and five million displaced by the time the war ended in 1992. In 1988, Roy Stacey, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who was part of a group trying to end Washington's backing for RENAMO, stated that the insurgents were carrying out "one of the most brutal holocausts against ordinary human beings since World War II."

Somalia which today is wracked by civil war and has no central government was the top recipient (per capita) of U.S. military and economic aid in Africa during the 1980s. Siad Barre, the country's dictator at the time, was a key strategic ally of Washington in the Cold War and got $600 million in U.S. aid.

Following Barre's rampage of killing and plunder, Somalia literally fell apart. Barre's forces murdered 5,000 unarmed civilians in 1988-89 and in 1990 he was overthrown.

Similarly, Sudan today is embroiled in an 25-year old civil war that has killed four million people. The U.S. is actively supporting the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) against the government. However, it has long been clear that Washington wants to keep the rebels strong enough to prevent defeat but does not want them to become capable of toppling the government. "Peace" a U.S. official explained, "does not necessarily suit American interests. An unstable Sudan amounts to a stable Egypt."

Economic War

Washington has fomented not only military conflict and genocide in Africa but also an economic holocaust through its agents the World Bank and the IMF.

The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) imposed by these institutions on 36 African countries since 1980 have devastated the continent, decimating national economies and health and education systems.

SAPs offer loans on condition that governments drastically reduce public spending (especially on health, education and food subsidies) in favour of repayment of debt owed to Western banks, increase exports of raw materials to the West, encourage foreign investment and privatize state enterprises; the last two steps mean selling whatever national assets a poor country may have to Western multinational corporations.

Under SAPs, Sub-Saharan Africa's external debt has actually increased by more than 500% since 1980, to $300 billion today. In 1997, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) stated that in the absence of debt payments, severely indebted African countries could have saved the lives of 21 million people and given 90 million girls and women access to basic education by the year 2000. The All-African Conference of Churches has called the debt "a new form of slavery, as vicious as the slave trade."

After twenty years of SAPs, 313 million Africans lived in absolute poverty in 2001 (out of a total population of 682 million), a 63% increase over the 200 million figure for 1994. Life expectancy has dropped by 15% since 1980 and today is 47 years, the lowest in the world.

Forty per cent of Africans suffer from malnutrition and more than half are without safe drinking water. Health care spending in the 42 poorest African countries fell by 50% during the 1980s. As a result, health care systems have collapsed across the continent creating near catastrophic conditions.

More than 200 million Africans have no access to health services as hundreds of clinics, hospitals and medical facilities have been closed.

This has left diseases to rage unchecked, leading most alarmingly to an AIDS pandemic. More than 17 million Africans have died of HIV/AIDS which has created 12 million orphans.

Between 1986 and 1996, per capita education spending in Africa fell by 0.7% a year on average.

Forty per cent of African children are out of school and the adult literacy rate in Sub- Saharan Africa is 60%, well below the developing country average of 73%.

More than 140 million young Africans are illiterate. Given the annihilating social impact of SAPs all over Africa, it is not surprising that Emily Sikazwe, director of the Zambian anti-poverty group "Women for Change," asked: "What would they [the World Bank and the IMF] say if we took them to the World Court in The Hague and accused them of genocide?"

Ghana

Structural adjustment here was preceded by CIA intervention.

In 1966, a CIA-backed military coup overthrew Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's President. Hailed as "Africa's brightest star," Nkrumah called for an anti-imperialist, pan-African organization and non-alignment in the Cold War.

In October 1965, Nkrumah published his famous work, "Neo-Colonialism-The Last Stage of Imperialism" in which he accused the CIA of being behind many crises in the Third World. The U.S. government reacted by sending Nkrumah a note of protest and cancelling $35 million in aid to Ghana. Four months later, Nkrumah was overthrown in the CIA-engineered coup.

IMF involvement in Ghana followed the coup and SAPs were activated in 1983. Seen as a "star pupil" by the World Bank and the IMF, Ghana privatized more than 130 state enterprises including the mining sector (its main source of revenue), removed tariff barriers and exchange regulations and ended subsidies for health and education. As a result 20% of Ghanaians are unemployed and the cost of food and services has gone beyond the reach of the poor. GDP per capita was lower in 1998 ($390) than it was in 1975 ($411); 78.4% of Ghanaians live on $1 a day and 40% live below the poverty line; 75% have no access to health services and 68% none to sanitation.

The introduction of user fees for health care in 1985 combined with falling wages and increasing poverty has reduced outpatient attendance at hospitals by a third. As one observer put it, "Patients pay for everything; for surgery, drugs, blood, scalpel, even the cotton wool." User fees in education have raised the primary school dropout rate to 40%.

Ghana is the second largest gold producer in Africa (after South Africa) and gold mining is the country's main source of income.

SAPs have compelled Ghana to sell the gold mining sector to Western multinational corporations which now own up to 85% of the large-scale mining industry. More than half of the 200 active gold concessions belong at least in part to Canadian companies.

The corporations can repatriate up to 95% of their profits into foreign accounts and pay no income tax or duties. This means that Western companies virtually monopolize Ghana's gold which contributes little to its economy.

American Holocaust

Just as "An unstable Sudan amounts to a stable Egypt" so an unstable, war-wracked and poverty-stricken Africa amounts to a stable and prosperous West.

This is U.S. imperial strategy towards Africa and it has destroyed the continent. The strategy aims at extracting the maximum amount of wealth from Africa for the West at the lowest cost through the perpetration of a holocaust created by eleven wars and structural adjustment programs imposed on 36 countries.

The wars have killed more than four million Africans and the SAPs have led to an estimated 21 million deaths; both have resulted in the transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars to the West.

Most African exports to the West are raw materials and the wars have helped keep their price low since the armies need to sell these for whatever money they can get in order to buy weapons; a considerable portion of the weapons are also bought from the West.

SAPs have transferred $229 billion in debt payments from Sub-Saharan Africa to the West since 1980. This is four times the region's 1980 debt. Like the wars, SAPs also help keep raw material prices low by enforcing the expansion of such exports to the West. The value of primary African exports has dropped by about half since 1980.

Four hundred and fifty years of the slave trade and 150 years of Western colonialism in Africa helped build the U.S. and European economies; Washington's ravaging of Africa today continues this horrifying legacy and starkly reveals the grotesqueness of the West.

Further Reading:
Africa:Why the Next United States President Won't Mean a Thing to Afrika Unless Part 1

U.S. puts a military focus on Africa

Eritrea: Govt Tells UN Debate That United States Causes Or Lengthens Crises Worldwide

30 September 2008

UN News Service (New York)-The "misguided and domineering policies" of the United States are causing and exacerbating crises around the world, Eritrea's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, calling for collective international action to check the power of Washington.

"The fingerprints of the sole superpower are discernible in most of the conflict situations that are raging in many parts of our globe with the deleterious economic, financial and humanitarian ramifications that they invariably entail," Osman Saleh told the final day of the Assembly's annual General Debate.

He accused the US of adopting a "management by crisis" approach, citing the ongoing Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict, the fighting and humanitarian suffering engulfing Somalia, troubles in Sudan and the recent border clashes between Djibouti and Eritrea as examples of where Washington had initiated or perpetuated troubles or blocked options for solution.

"These days, candid efforts are not exerted to prevent and manage conflicts. On the contrary, crises are deliberately spawned and allowed to fester so that their 'management' would provide the United States with the opportunity and latitude for control in a situation of permanent instability.

"The absence of countervailing forces in a unipolar world has only aggravated the situation. Principal among these is the weakness of the United Nations to pursue an independent line and act as a bulwark of robust multilateralism."

Mr. Saleh said the US too often cited the war on terrorism as the reason for its actions, even though that war "has long been derailed from its original objectives and intentions" to suit other purposes.

"This untenable state of affairs cannot go on and should not be tolerated. The human sufferings have been, and are, too great; the time too long. In the event, collective international efforts to check US excesses are timely and imperative

"The perils of unchecked unipolarism have become glaringly obvious in the past years. This reality can only accentuate the need for bolstering the United Nations, to make it a democratic and a robust institution of multilateralism through prolonged and concerted collective efforts."

Africa: Why the Next United States President Won't Mean a Thing to Afrika Unless

OPINION

29 September 2008
Dr. Kwame Osei

Many people of Afrikan descent are anticipating that if Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States of America, the fortunes of Afrika will change. However, it does not matter one jot who wins the forthcoming US election unless US Foreign policy towards Afrika changes drastically.

A Case-study:

The G8 Summit held in June, pledged $6 billion dollars a year in so-called aid to Africa by 2006. The low figure caused an official of Oxfam to say "We're extremely disappointed by this wasted opportunity. They're offering peanuts to Africa and recycled peanuts at that."

In 1999, debt service payments from Africa, the poorest region in the world, to rich Western countries totaled $35.7 billion. African debt stands at a crippling $300 billion.

According to The Guardian (U.K.) "African leaders invited to the G8 gathering expressed deep disappointment that the plan did nothing to open western markets, cancel debts of the poorest countries or provide the financial aid needed to meet the U.N.'s targets for tackling global poverty by 2015."

Behind the shameful peanut throwing lurks a deadly Western policy towards Africa. The U.S. government which dominates the G8 has through the Pentagon, the CIA, the World Bank and the IMF, systematically demolished African economies, health and education sectors, and fueled eleven wars on the continent with arms transfers and military training.

This genocidal imperial strategy has killed more than ten million Africans and has allowed the U.S. and the West to attain Africa's abundant natural riches very cheaply.

Nearly 80% of the strategic minerals the U.S. requires are found in Africa including 90% of the world's cobalt, 90% of the platinum, 40% of the gold, 98% of the chromium, 64% of the manganese and one-third of the uranium.

These minerals are needed to make jet engines, mobile phones, lap-top computers, the digital-camera, cars, missiles, electronic components, iron and steel. Africa also accounts for 18% of U.S. oil imports as compared to 25% from the Persian Gulf, with Nigeria and Angola being the fifth largest and ninth largest exporters to the U.S. respectively.

Militarizing Africa

Africa is the most war-torn region in the world with armed conflicts going on in nine countries: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia/Eritrea, Congo-Brazzaville and Algeria. The long wars in Angola and Sierra Leone ended (for now) in April and March 2002 respectively.

The U.S. has provided arms and/or military training to participants in 9 of these 10 wars, the only exception being Algeria. During the 1990s, 32 African countries (out of 53) saw violent conflict.

According to William Hartung, co-author of "Deadly Legacy: U.S. Arms to Africa and the Congo War," a report released in 2000 by the New York-based World Policy Institute, the U.S. sent $1.5 billion dollars in arms and training to Africa during the Cold War years (1950-1989) and this "set the stage for the current round of conflicts in the region."

Hartung points out that "The military skills and equipment supplied by the U.S. are still being used by combatants in these wars." As "Deadly Legacy" explains, "many of the top U.S. clients of the Cold War-Liberia, Somalia, Sudan and Zaire (now DRC)" became riven by violence, instability and economic collapse during the 1990s (and still are).

Following the end of the Cold War, the Clinton Administration undertook "a wave of new military training programs in Africa." From 1991 to 1995, the U.S. gave military assistance to 50 countries in Africa out of a total of 53; during 1991-98, U.S. arms sales and military training to Africa totaled more than $227 million.

The U.S. has four different military training programs for Africa: International Military Education Training (IMET), Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET), African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) and the African Center for Security Studies (ACSS).

Under IMET, the U.S. gave $7.9 million in outright grants to Sub-Saharan Africa in 1998, increasing it to $8.1 million in 1998 and $8.5 million in 2000. In contrast, South Asia got only $5.7 million, $5.6 million, and $5.8 million, respectively.

In 2000, the U.S. gave $8.1 million under ACRI to 39 African countries and U.S. Special Forces have trained 34 out of 53 African national militaries under JCET.

Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the heart of Africa, U.S. proxies Uganda and Rwanda occupy the eastern half of the country and are looting its mineral resources and sending them to the West.

The DRC is the richest country in Africa holding the world's biggest copper, cobalt and cadmium deposits. The war started by Rwanda and Uganda against the Congolese government in 1998, has killed 2.5 million people and displaced 2.3 million. Oxfam called this war, "the world's biggest humanitarian disaster."

Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sent their armies to support the Congo government and Burundi joined the other side. Thus began "Africa's First World War" involving seven armies which has further wrecked a country crushed by more than a century of Western domination. The U.S. has given arms and/or military training to all seven armies.

Rwanda and Uganda are the U.S.' "staunchest allies in the region" and Washington backed their invasion of the Congo according to Human Rights Watch.

Uganda received $1.5 million in U.S. arms and military training in 1999 and Rwanda got $325,000 under IMET in 2000. U.S. Special Forces have trained the Rwandan Army in counterinsurgency, combat and psychological operations.

This included instructions about fighting in the Congo. To keep the war going, the U.S. has helped the other side too with Zimbabwe getting $1.4 million in U.S. military training in 2000 and Namibia $500,000.

Angola

Another U.S.-made disaster is the 27-year long civil war in Angola (Africa's longest-running war) which ended in April 2002; the conflict killed 500,000 people and shattered the country.

The U.N. has warned of a catastrophe in Angola, where half a million people face starvation (as a result of the war) and more than a million depend on food aid for survival. Thousands of people have died of hunger over the last few months, and more are dying every day.

According to the BBC, "It is the worst starvation to hit Southern Africa in over a decade." Three and a half million Angolans (a third of the population) have been displaced by the war and eight to fifteen million land mines cover Angola making agriculture hazardous.

As a result, fertile Angola has to import half its food requirements. There are 100,000 disabled land mine victims, 82% of Angolans live in poverty and a child dies of a preventable disease every three minutes. Like the Congo, Angola is rich in mineral wealth: it is Africa's second largest oil producer (after Nigeria) with some of the largest offshore oil deposits in the world, and its diamond output is worth about $800 million a year.

The civil war started with Angola's independence from Portugal in May 1975 when the left-wing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) took power and Washington launched a CIA covert operation in July 1975 to overthrow it.

The operation was the brainchild of Henry Kissinger who was then Secretary of State in the Ford Administration. The CIA at the time was led by George Bush Sr. The CIA plan included backing a South African invasion of Angola in October 1975 and support for Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), an opponent of the MPLA, led by the brutal Jonas Savimbi.

UNITA was an agent of the Portuguese colonial regime; its task was to destroy the MPLA, and it had received aid from apartheid South Africa whose invasion it joined. The U.S. asked for the South African invasion and helped Pretoria airlift men and materiel up to the front line so the latter could seize the capital Luanda and stop the MPLA from establishing itself as Angola's first independent government. Before South African forces could reach Luanda, however, Cuban troops landed there in November 1975 and beat back the apartheid army.

The CIA operation spent $31.7 million on arming UNITA and the South Africans before being shut down by Congress in 1976; U.S. aid to UNITA resumed in 1985 under the Reagan Administration and Savimbi received $250 million between 1986 and 1991. U.S. support for Savimbi reached a record $50 million in 1989 when George Bush Sr. became President.

As one observer put it, "Two military supply flights a day maintained a UNITA campaign that became increasingly brutal and destructive. Savimbi...by this time...was reduced to naked coercion. Men were forced to fight for his army, women were dragooned into sexual slavery and peasant farmers had their food seized.

Those who challenged his authority would be accused of witchcraft and burnt alive along with their families." According to Human Rights Watch, UNITA forces "engaged in indiscriminate shelling, long-term sieges that starved civilians, summary executions, torture, mutilation of the dead, hostage-taking, and attacks on international relief operations." The European Parliament denounced U.S. aid to Savimbi and declared UNITA "a terrorist organization which supports South Africa."

Washington's support for Savimbi all in the name of US imperialism continued even after the Cubans withdrew in 1991 and the U.S.S.R. collapsed. The U.S. finally recognized the Angolan government in May 1993 under Clinton. By then Savimbi was able to finance "his" war through illegal diamonds smuggling with the conflict only ending after he was killed by government troops in February 2002.

'Snowfall' shocks Kenyan village

3 September 2008

Kenya-Residents of a village in central Kenya were shocked to see a blanket of hail resembling snow covering their land.

"I have not seen such a thing ever since I was born," said one resident of Nyahururu.

"Where shall we graze our cattle now? We do not know when this thing will melt," said another.

The Meteorological Department dismissed claims that the area had experienced snowfall, saying it was just hail which did not melt because of cold weather.

There is snow in Kenya - but only on the summit of the nearby Mount Kenya.

The storm caused widespread damage to food crops, grazing fields and greenhouses at a nearby flower farm.

The hail covered 100 acres (40ha) of land and was at least four inches deep, privately-owned NTV station reported.


'Looks like stone'

"You can see this is heavy, it's not powdery the way you'd expect snow to be," said Samuel Mwangi, the assistant director for weather forecasting at the Meteorological Department. "Nyahururu is cooler so when the hail falls, it will tend to linger for hours on the ground," he said.

James Kariuki, a local journalist, said at least 50 acres (20ha) of maize and 10 greenhouses at a flower farm were damaged by the storm.

Many of the villagers said they had never witnessed such an occurrence.

"This is not even rain, it is something that just fell suddenly. Even if you try digging into it, you will not find any water, it just looks like stone," one villager said.

Mr Mwangi said that parts of western Kenya frequently experience hail storms, but there the stones melt instantly due to high temperatures.

Iran welcomes African states independence: speaker

21 August 2008

Tehran-Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said here Wednesday that Iran welcomes independence and progress of African countries and calls for expansion of bilateral amicable ties.

In a meeting with Guinean Ambassador to Tehran Olia Kamara, Larijani said that Iran's view regarding Africa widely differs from those of the Western countries and certain big powers who intend to loot interests of the African nations.

The speaker further underscored the need for bolstering economic and parliamentary relations with African countries, Guinea in particular.

Kamara, for his part, said that his country's senior officials are determined to boost all-out ties with Iran.

He called on Iranian companies to make investment in Guinea's mine sector.

The diplomat called for making use of Iran's experience in all fields particularly in parliamentary area.

U.S. President Bush With Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan

U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan enter the Banquet Lobby at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa Sunday, July, 6, 2008, for a joint press availability. The President and Mrs. Laura Bush arrived in Toyako on the northern Japanese Island of Hokkaido to attend the Group of Eight Summit.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 6, 2008

Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa
Toyako, Japan

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: (As translated.) We had a very substantive meeting with President Bush for about an hour. In the meeting, we first shared the view that peace and stability in this region in the past decades have been maintained, thanks to the Japan-U.S. alliance. We then reaffirmed that in the seven and a half years or so since the inauguration of the Bush administration in January of 2001, the alliance has deepened by leaps and bounds in security, economic, people-to-people exchanges, and other areas. And we agreed to further strengthen this alliance.

In the security area, cooperation between Japan and the United States grew more concrete, substantive and broader in nature, as exemplified by the cooperation in the fight against terrorism and assistance for Iraqi reconstruction following 9/11, the agreement on and steady implementation of a road map for U.S. forces realignment, and the joint development of ballistic missile and successful intercept tests.

On North Korean issues, I told President Bush that the verification of their declaration is extremely important to realize complete nuclear abandonment by North Korea; that simultaneous settlement of denuclearization and the abduction issue will be important; and that to that end, Japan wishes to continue to cooperate closely with the United States. And President Bush concurred with me and told me that he will never forget the abduction issue.

I was encouraged to hear from him that the U.S. position on the abduction issue -- that is to say a clear-cut support for Japanese position -- remains unchanged, and that the United States will remain in close coordination with Japan on the issue. As agreed between us on the nuclear and abduction issues, we shall continue to deal with the issue, maintaining close coordination between our two countries.

On the economic aspects, the interdependence between Japan and the United States has grown closer than before. Since 2000, Japanese direct investment to the United States has increased approximately 30 percent; Japanese businesses in the United States have about 610,000 people on their payrolls. And U.S. direct investment in Japan also has increased approximately 60 percent.

I wish to also point out that mutual understanding between our countries has reached a high level at the grassroots level. I shall make sure to follow up the initiative I announced during my visit to the United States last year to step up Japan-U.S. exchanges so that the foundation for our alliance will become unshakeable.

In order to further deepen this alliance, I explained to President Bush my belief that it will be important to further step up policy coordination in Asia and bilateral cooperation in addressing global challenges, such as climate change, African development, and disaster reduction. And President Bush expressed his agreement on this.

On African development, we agreed that we should further step up our bilateral cooperation to increase the production of major crops in Africa, including doubling of rice production, and to promote their trade and distribution. On disaster reduction, following the recent spate of several natural -- severe natural disasters in Asia in recent years, I wish to step up cooperation between our two countries to build up cooperation in Asia on disaster prevention.

On climate change, we also had discussions and we have a common understanding that is our common responsibility to leave the beautiful Earth to our posterity since this -- climate change is one of the most severe challenges that humankind faces today, and that we shall continue to cooperate with the G8. And with regard to soaring food and oil prices, which are having negative impact on the world economy, we agreed there's a need for expeditious efforts on these fronts.

President Bush, please.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for inviting us to this beautiful place. Laura and I are really looking forward to dinner with you and Mrs. Fukuda tonight. And I agree with your assessment that we had very important and fruitful discussions.

We discussed a variety of subjects, starting with the -- our work together to make sure the Korean Peninsula, all the Korean Peninsula, is free of nuclear weapons. I am fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue here in your country. I am aware that people want to make sure that the abduction issue is not ignored, and that there are suspicions about whether or not the North Koreans will be fully forthcoming. I view this process as a multi-step process that requires strong verification.

One thing is for certain, is that North Korea did provide a declaration of its plutonium-related activities and did blow up the cooling tower of its reactor at Yongbyon. That's been verified, and that also is a positive step. But there are more steps to be taken. We are concerned about enriched uranium, and proliferation, and human rights abuses, ballistic missile programs. I view this process as a multi-step process where there will be action for action.

The Prime Minister gave me the book of Ms. Yokota. I had the privilege of meeting her in the Oval Office. I was deeply touched by her story about the abduction of her little girl. As a father of little girls, I can't imagine what it would be like to have my daughter just disappear. So, Mr. Prime Minister, as I told you on the phone when I talked to you and in the past, the United States will not abandon you on this issue.

We worked -- we talked about Japan's contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I thank your government and I thank the people of Japan for helping others realize the blessings of liberty. We talked about Iran and the importance of Iran to listen to the demands, the just demands of the world to verifiably suspend its enrichment programs.

We haven't had a chance to talk about Burma yet, but I intend to bring it up with the Prime Minister. I'm deeply concerned about that country. Their response to the recent natural disaster was unwarranted, at best. And we urge the regime to free Aung Suu -- Aung San Suu Kyi.

We talked about the G8, and I believe this is going to be a successful G8, Mr. Prime Minister. This is my eighth one. I've got a pretty good sense about whether or not a G8 is going to be a success or maybe not such a success. This one is going to be a success.

We've got a lot to talk about. I appreciate very much your strong belief in the accountability aspect of this meeting. In other words, when people say they're -- make a pledge to feed the hungry or provide for the ill, that we ought to honor that pledge. And I thank you for understanding that. And I also thank you for your concern about neglected tropical diseases, as well as helping train health workers in Africa so that they can be compassionate citizens of their respective countries.

We'll talk about food and energy, of course. And then I've got two other subjects that I want to make sure we spend a fair amount of time on. One is the Doha Round. It's an opportunity for us, Mr. Prime Minister, to promote free and fair trade, and it's going to be an essential part of the development agenda. And the truth of the matter is, we can give grants, but the best way to help the impoverished around the world is through trade. It's a proven fact. And this is an opportunity to set up a successful ministerial in July -- I think it's July 21st for the Doha Round.

And then I'm going to spend some time, of course, sharing my views about the environment and how we can advance our common agenda, and that -- remind people that the United States and Japan really do lead the world in research when it comes to clean technologies.

I think I was sharing my views with some of the Japanese press when they were in the United States, Mr. Prime Minister, about how Japan is going to lead the world when it comes to battery technologies, and that I anticipate our country will be able to be using battery technologies in automobiles that look like cars, not golf carts, and which will save us a lot of -- a lot of, you know, reliance upon oil. And this will be a great opportunity to discuss that, as well as our common desire to move our common agenda.

And so I want to thank you very much for your hospitality and I appreciate very much your candid discussion that we had.

Q Both of you have commented on global warming, and so I'd like to ask about that to both of you. First, Prime Minister Fukuda, were you successful in getting President Bush's agreement to cooperate -- to get a G8 agreement on long-term target to have greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 globally?

So first that question. And second question for President Bush. Mr. President, you've been saying that participation of China and India, among others, will be essential for a long-term target. Do you think that -- are going to cooperate on getting a G8 agreement on long-term target this time? And also, as for assistance for African countries that are suffering from negative impact of global warming, I wonder what thoughts you have, President Bush.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Allow me to first respond. As I said earlier on the global warming issue, including long-term targets, I agreed with President Bush to continue to cooperate in the run-up to the G8. On whether G8 will agree on long-term target or not, that is something that G8 is continuing consultations. So at this stage what I wish to say is that we leaders will get down to in-depth discussions on this day after tomorrow.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'll be constructive. I've always advocated that there needs to be a common understanding, and that starts with a goal. And I also am realistic enough to tell you that if China and India don't share that same aspiration, that we're not going to solve the problem.

And so I appreciate the Prime Minister's leadership on this issue. And the United States will -- we're working, working to see if we can come up with a constructive -- constructive statement.

I didn't get your question on Africa. What was the question on Africa? Ask it again, please.

Q Well, I wanted to ask for your thoughts, your views on support for Africa, which will be negatively affected by global warming. Do you have any plans for supporting Africa?

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- starts with understanding that babies are needlessly dying because of mosquito bites, and therefore, wealthy nations ought to step up and provide mosquito nets, DDT, as well as medicine. My concern for Africa starts with knowing that too many people are dying of HIV/AIDS. And that's why the United States Congress joined the administration in supporting a $15 billion effort to help people get anti-retroviral drugs, help orphans get help, and help put a effective prevention program in place. The amount -- number of people who have gone on anti-retrovirals today has grown from 50,000 to 1.7 million people.

I'm concerned about people going hungry. And so we'll be very constructive in the dialogue when it comes to the environment. I care about the environment. But today there's too much suffering on the continent of Africa, and now is the time for the comfortable nations to step up and do something about it.

Q Thank you. Mr. President, oil prices are up. The economy is in a serious downturn. What can world leaders do? And would you approve of intervention to strengthen the U.S. dollar, which many people say is contributing to the rise in oil prices?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, do you believe that the U.S. is holding up moving forward on climate change?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First of all, our economy is not growing as robustly as we'd like. We had positive growth in the first quarter. We'll see what happens here in the second quarter. But nevertheless, we're not as strong as we have been during a lot of my presidency. And so, as you well know, Toby, we passed a stimulus bill that is now in the process of passing money back to consumers, which had a positive effect, and hopefully will continue to have a positive effect.

We'll work with the Congress to get a housing bill out. We're -- we passed uninsurance benefits -- unemployment benefits -- excuse me. And yet we got a problem when it comes to reliance upon foreign sources of oil. For seven years I've been trying to get the Congress to explore for oil domestically. Now is the time, when they come back from their 4th of July vacations, to open up ANWR and open up the Outer Continental Shelf, so that we can say to the world that we will do our part in increasing supply, so that we can transition from this period of reliance upon hydrocarbons to a new period of advanced technologies.

In terms of the dollar, the United States strongly believes -- believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that our -- the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I just said the relative strength of our economy will be reflected in currencies.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: With regard to global warming or climate change, the question was how do I see U.S. response. Is that a correct understanding of your question? Well, between Japan and the United States, discussions are -- been going on at various levels. The U.S. I believe has not really lost a sense of direction, generally, and that between our two countries we have consultations going on. And through these consultations, I think our views are gradually converging.

At the G8 this time, well, I'll be chairing the meeting, so I've asked the President for his cooperation to this chair and he has shown his kind understanding. What the results will be, well, we have to wait until the conclusion comes out at the meeting the day after tomorrow.

Q On North Korea, I'd like to ask questions of the two leaders. First, President Bush. North Korea recently submitted their declaration on nuclear development programs, but that declaration did not include a declaration regarding nuclear weapons. Are you satisfied with that sort of declaration, Mr. President? And also in connection with this -- or in connection with the declaration, Mr. President, you decided to notify Congress about removing North Korea from the status of state sponsor of terrorism list. There is rising concern about abduction in Japan. You said you will not forget about abduction, but would there be -- after removal of North Korea from the list, what sort of means will there remain for the United States to press North Korea to resolve the abduction issue?

Now, Mr. Fukuda, I wonder in your discussions you asked the President to rethink the President's decision to remove North Korea from the list. If not, why didn't you ask? Now, following the removal of North Korea from the list, what sort of specific cooperation would you seek from the United States to advance the abduction issue?

PRESIDENT BUSH: North Korea is the most sanctioned nation in the world, and will remain the most sanctioned nation in the world. And the way for them to get off their sanctions is to honor their commitments in a verifiable fashion.

Somehow there's this notion -- inherent in your question is the delisting therefore took away their sanctions. That's just not an accurate statement on your part -- if you think that -- I'm not assuming you do think that, but -- they're a highly sanctioned regime. And as I said, they've got a lot of obligations that they must fulfill in order for these sanctions to leave.

And that's why I said it is action for action. And the first step was taken. Now, one thing is for certain, I repeat -- I don't know if you saw it on your -- on the TVs here, but the destruction of the cooling tower was verifiable action. And that's a positive step. But as I mentioned in my opening statement, we have other concerns, and one such concern, of course, is the abduction issue.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, the North Korean declaration on their nuclear programs -- well, when you think about the abduction issue, I think the suggestion of your question, what you were suggesting is that we should seek U.S. to rescind that decision. Well, as far as nuclear issue is concerned, well, we have moved on to a new phase, and I think we need to make sure this will be successful, because it will be in the interest of Japan, as well. At the same time, in parallel, we need to bring the abduction issue to successful conclusion, as well.

So against this backdrop of progress in the nuclear front, we need to also strive for progress on the abduction front, as well. And to that end, we need to have good-faith discussions with North Korea. So far we have not seen any progress, but we need to engage in negotiations so that progress will be produced. Because abduction is not progressing, on the nuclear front we should not make progress -- that is something we should not -- we should avoid, and I believe we need to make progress on both fronts, because that will be important for Japan, and I think that will be necessary for North Korea, as well.

Time is pressing now. Last question from the U.S. side, please.

Q Good afternoon. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you a question about China. I was wondering if you could, first of all, explain a little bit about your thinking behind your decision to attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics next month. And more generally, I'm wondering what you would say to the -- your friends and allies in the United States who are very concerned about religious freedom and human rights in China, the situation in Sudan and Burma -- what would you say to them of what has come from your approach to dealing with President Hu over the last seven years.

And I'd also like to ask the Japanese Prime Minister whether you're paying close attention to the American election? And in particular, I'm curious if you can discern any differences right now between the two candidates as it relates to Japan, in particular, and more broadly in terms of how they would approach Asia.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I view the Olympics as a opportunity for me to cheer on our athletes. It's an athletic event. I had the honor of dealing with the Chinese -- two Chinese Presidents during my term, and every time I have visited with them I have talked about religious freedom and human rights. And so, therefore, my decision to go was -- I guess I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so.

I also believe that the Chinese people are watching very carefully about the decisions by world leaders, and that this -- I happen to believe not going to the opening games would be -- the Opening Ceremony for the Games would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to have a -- to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. And I'm looking forward to cheering the athletes. I think it will be -- I think it would be good for these athletes who have worked hard to see their President waving that flag.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, in some areas we've made progress on a common agenda; other areas we haven't. But nevertheless, I have been very clear in my view that, for example, a whole society is one that honors religion, and that people shouldn't fear religious people. After all, truly religious people love their neighbor, and that China benefits from people being able to worship freely.

It looks like there's some progress, at least in the talks with the Dalai Lama. And by the way, as you know, I'm the first President ever to have stood up publicly with the Dalai Lama, and told President Hu Jintao I was going to. And he wasn't that pleased about it, but nevertheless, I said I believe in a religious freedom, Mr. President.

And so it's -- and I hope I have a bilateral -- I might have a bilateral with him here, and I bet I do when I'm in Beijing, as well, and, of course, the subject will come up.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, your question for me, was it along the same line, as well? Well, and if that is the case -- well, I -- whether I'll attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games or not, I have not made any official announcement on this because the day after the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, there is an important event in Japan and I have to attend that important ceremony, and therefore -- or event -- therefore, I really have to make sure I would have time to get back for that. Now I know that I'll able to get back in time. So here for the first time, I will announce that I -- announce officially that I will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

Now -- and, in fact, the President said something to the same effect, that Olympics are a sport events and we want people to really live up to the spirit of the sports, sportsmanship. And I certainly encourage that. And there are many aspiring athletes that will be going to Beijing, and I would like to cheer them on, too, which I think is only natural. I don't think you really have to link Olympics to politics.

Now, there certainly may be problems with China, but even so, they are striving to improve things. They're on the way to improve things, and we'd like to closely watch how they do. In the past, Japan has come through various experiences, and the U.S. and others criticized Japan for certain behaviors. So we have had experience in that reality, and we are now here today. So we really have to be -- have humility in asking ourselves, do we have the right to make those points to China and others.

Now, I would not hope that there will be chaos in China. I would not want Chinese to become unhappy. We are neighbors, after all, and it will good for Japan if our neighbors are in a sound state, as well. So with that in mind, as well, I shall attend the Opening Ceremony.

MODERATOR: It's time, so we'd like to conclude the press conference at this time.

END

________

Commentary

With no disrespect to Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan, but to the contrary, very honorable, great respect to him and the Japanese people.

Every time Bush makes a trip abroad the speeches among dignitaries are always predictable and from my understanding, it is because of the mannerism in which Bush treats dignitaries in other countries; which is actually very poor and very disrespectable to the governments of the world, it has been reported.

While people in the world many not always agree with each other, one thing one should always do, is be respectful not to just the people; but there culture which apparently, Bush has never learned away from the media.

Furthermore, Bush also is not in touch with the American people, anymore then he knows about the different countries of the world.

Personally, the Japanese culture, especially in there generations of customs, arts and gardens, I have found very beautiful; I wish I knew more of the beauty of Japan. Also, at different times in my life, I have met people from Japan, which has always made me very happy.

Abbas Find a Cliff

Global terrorist and Interpol fugitive Mahmoud Abbas meets Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, during the 11th African Union Summit, 30 June 2008 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

What is interesting about this particular incident between Gaddafi and Abbas with others looking on with very larges smiles, maybe even a good laugh is that Gaddafi in his wisdom, requested Abbas’s demise, it was reported.

Furthermore, it is understood that Abbas was not welcome in any capacity at this summit or anywhere else for that matter.

It should also be known, that this is not the first time such a request has been presented to Abbas, from within the global community.

Thinking of terrorism in Palestine, all assets of known terrorist's or there organizations, will be frozen from this day foreword; especially those within Mahmoud Abbas‘s terrorist organization.

Mali’s Kolenze Masjid

This is the Kolenze mud mosque in Mali, West Africa.

The mud walls are thick and tapered, to both protect the inside from the heat and support the often two story structures and the roof. During the day, the walls absorb the heat of the day that is released throughout the night, helping the interior of the mosque remain cool all day long.

Some structures, for example, Djenné’s Great Mosque (Masjid), also have roof vents with ceramic caps. These caps, made by the town's women, can be removed at night to ventilate the interior spaces.

Masons have integrated palm wood scaffolding into the building's construction, not as beams, but as permanent scaffolding for the workers who apply plaster annually during the spring festival to restore the mosque. The palm beams also minimize the stress that comes from the extreme temperature and humidity changes typical of the climate.

Men praying in Kolenze mosque (Masjid), in Mali.

Iran concerned over violation of human rights in West

20 May 2008

Tehran-Iran on Tuesday expressed concern over violation of human rights in the West and growing number of victims to violence against Muslims.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the growth of violation of human rights and organized Islamophobia in the West is alarming.

Mottaki made the remark in a meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart Akwasi Osei-Adjei, expressing concern about the violation of human rights and prevalence of anti-Islam moves in the West.

Condemning genocide and displacement of Palestinian people by the usurper Tel Aviv regime, he said that the international community should undertake the responsibility to support the rights of the oppressed nation.

Mottaki further said that those, who participated in the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the fake regime in Tel Aviv, are accomplices to the crimes being perpetrated by Israel in killing and displacing the Palestinian people.

The only way to end the atrocities against Palestinian nation is holding a referendum with the participation of all Palestinians to determine their own fate, he noted.

The two counterparts also explored grounds for expansion of cooperation in different fields, including oil and gas industries, dam-building, construction of power plant, and car-manufacturing.

Mottaki referred to the signing of preferential tariff agreements, exemption of double taxation and support for reciprocal investments as efforts, which can facilitate commercial and industrial relations between Iran and Ghana.

The Ghanaian foreign minister is in Tehran to take part in the Third Conference of Iran-Ghana Joint Commission.

He added that his country's leaders are determined to expand relations with Iran and calls for utilizing Iranians' experiences in different industrial sectors.

Assessing the exchange of view with the friendly countries on international issues as fruitful and constructive, he noted that Iran's policy focuses on the expansion of ties with African countries, which can benefit both the Iranian and African nations.

OIC Summit has focused on decisive efforts

13 March 2008

Dakar-The 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world's second largest body after the United Nations, is holding its 11th Summit in the Senegalese capital Dakar today and tomorrow.

At least 33 heads of state, and nearly 5,500 delegates representing member countries and international organizations have attended the summit.

Saudi Arabia, which has the OIC's headquarters, has highlighted the summit's significance and hopes it will strengthen Muslim unity.

"The summit is being held at a time when Muslims in the world are suffering from challenges and hardship that demand collective efforts," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said upon departure to Dakar, Senegal.

The conference has discussed ways and means to combat poverty in the Muslim world and a proposal for a special program for the development of Africa.

The Arab-Israeli conflict, the worsening security situation in Iraq and the political crisis in Lebanon also figured high on the agenda.

The United States has decided to send an envoy to the OIC summit for the first time.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki protested presence of the US representative owing to the US propaganda campaign against Muslims and the US blessings for Israeli crimes against civilians living in Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, however, welcomed Washington's decision and hoped that it would contribute to improving US relations with the Islamic world.

"There are plenty of problems and misunderstandings. But still there is plenty of potential for cooperation," he said.

The US government said it had appointed Texas entrepreneur Sada Cumber to the OIC "to promote mutual understanding and dialogue between the US and Muslim communities." Ihsanoglu said, the OIC's position on issues like the Palestine-Israel conflict is often misrepresented in the United States.

"We want (Cumber) to listen and learn," Ihsanoglu said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the appointment of Cumber signals the deep respect for the values and ideals of Islam held by the US government and the American people.

"This appointment is one part of a much larger effort that our government has undertaken to increase our engagement with Muslim communities worldwide," she said.

Ihsanoglu said the Summit of leaders would also review the progress of the 10-Year Program of Action approved by the extraordinary Islamic summit in holy Mecca in December 2005.

The program includes restructure of the OIC, revising of the organization's charter and reactivation of its institutions.

A high-level panel has already revised the organization's charter which have been presented to the Summit of leaders for approval.

Under the program, serious efforts will be made to enhance the scope of political participation, ensure equality, civil liberties and social justice, and promote transparency and accountability, and eliminate corruption in member countries.

Ihsanoglu, who took charge as OIC secretary-general in January 2005, has played a significant role in strengthening the organization, the largest in the Muslim World.

The OIC, which was founded in 1969, aims to promote Islamic unity and serves as a voice for the Muslim world.

The OIC chief said a detailed report on Islamophobia, including the publication of cartoons blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), would be presented to summit of leaders.

The report is an attempt to comprehensively record anti-Islamic speech and action around the world.

"The Islamophobes remain free to carry on their assault due to absence of necessary legal measures against the misuse or abuse of the right to freedom of expression," charges the report.

Israeli Police Detain African Migrants

A Sudanese refugee surveys an empty shelter deserted after a police raid in Tel Aviv, Monday, Feb. 25, 2008. Israeli police on Monday detained about 200 Africans who infiltrated the country through the porous border with Egypt in recent months, a police official said, a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered a crackdown on illegal migrants.(AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

25 February 2008

By ARON HELLER

TEL AVIV-Israeli police arrested about 200 African migrants Monday, a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered a crackdown on the growing problem of illegal immigration, officials said.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the migrants, mostly Sudanese who entered through the porous border with Egypt, were arrested in a raid near Tel Aviv's old bus station, where many live. Rosenfeld said the arrests would continue this week.

The dilapidated buildings that shelter migrants in southern Tel Aviv were nearly empty after the raid as people tried to avoid arrest. They left hundreds of barren mattresses side-by-side in smelly underground dwellings.

Solomon Mangstie-Dayan, a 40-year-old migrant from Ethiopia who crossed into Israel nine days ago, said police officers raided his shelter, seizing fellow African migrants and hurrying them onto three buses. He said he was spared only because of the cries of his 3-year-old daughter, Sunight.

Olmert on Sunday ordered security officials to tighten supervision of the Egyptian border and directed officials to expedite the processing of those seeking asylum, to decide which were just seeking work and could be deported.

Africans have been sneaking into Israel in increasing numbers over the past year. More than 7,000 have entered the country illegally through Egypt in just over a year, including more than 2,000 so far in 2008, said Michael Bavly, a representative in Israel of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Israeli government statistics estimate about 100,000 legal foreign workers in the country. At least 100,000 others, many from Africa, work in Israel without permits, according to experts.

Foreign workers flock to Israel because the higher wages allow them to send relatively large amounts of money back home to their families. Refugees seeking asylum from wars or persecution see Israel as a welcoming, Westernized country.

Many Israelis feel an obligation to help refugees because of the centuries of persecution Jews endured before they created their own state.

Most migrants are from Sudan, including southern Sudan, where a 22-year conflict left 2.5 million people dead, and Darfur, where a rebellion has cost more than 200,000 civilian lives and made 2.5 million homeless. Others have fled Eritrea and forced military conscription there.

This year, Israel granted temporary residency status to 600 refugees from Darfur. It also recognized about 2,000 migrants from Eritrea whose lives would be endangered if sent home.

But the nation plans to deport another 4,500, many of whom came from countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.

Their route to Israel is often treacherous. Egyptian border police on Monday shot and wounded a Sudanese and a man from Ivory Coast in separate incidents as they tried to cross into Israel. On Sunday, Egyptian forces shot and killed an African woman who was trying to cross the border into Israel, a medical official said.

A spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry said those arrested Monday who have work permits would be released. Those whose refugee status is being reviewed by the U.N. would be granted a limited stay, and the others would be deported.

Sigal Rozen, of the Hotline for Migrant Workers in Tel Aviv, who represents the migrants, said authorities were shipping some of the arrested migrants to a prison in southern Israel.

Bush Two Face and Standing on One Foot

For Immediate Release
February 23, 2008

Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This Thursday, Laura and I returned from an inspiring visit to Africa. In Benin and Tanzania, we met leaders who are fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria -- and people whose lives have been saved by the generosity of the American people. In Rwanda, we saw a nation overcoming the pain of genocide with courage and grace and hope. In Ghana, we met entrepreneurs who are exporting their products and building a more prosperous future. And in Liberia, we saw a nation that is recovering from civil war, led by the first democratically elected woman President on the continent. Laura and I returned to Washington impressed by the energy, optimism, and potential of the African people.

Members of Congress will soon be returning to Washington, as well, and they have urgent business to attend to. They left town on a 10-day recess without passing vital legislation giving our intelligence professionals the tools they need to quickly and effectively monitor foreign terrorist communications. Congress' failure to pass this legislation was irresponsible. It will leave our Nation increasingly vulnerable to attack. And Congress must fix this damage to our national security immediately.

The way ahead is clear. The Senate has already passed a good bill by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. This bill has strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, and would pass if given an up or down vote. But House leaders are blocking this legislation, and the reason can be summed up in three words: class action lawsuits.

The Senate bill would prevent plaintiffs' attorneys from suing companies believed to have helped defend America after the 9/11 attacks. More than 40 of these lawsuits have been filed, seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in damages from these companies. It is unfair and unjust to threaten these companies with financial ruin only because they are believed to have done the right thing and helped their country.

But the highest cost of all is to our national security. Without protection from lawsuits, private companies will be increasingly unwilling to take the risk of helping us with vital intelligence activities. After the Congress failed to act last week, one telecommunications company executive was asked by the Wall Street Journal how his company would respond to a request for help. He answered that because of the threat of lawsuits, quote, "I'm not doing it ...I'm not going to do something voluntarily." In other words, the House's refusal to act is undermining our ability to get cooperation from private companies. And that undermines our efforts to protect us from terrorist attack.

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell recently explained that the vast majority of the communications infrastructure we rely on in the United States is owned and operated by the private sector. Because of the failure to provide liability protection, he says private companies who have "willingly helped us in the past, are now saying, 'You can't protect me. Why should I help you?'" Senator Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, puts it this way: "The fact is, if we lose cooperation from these or other private companies, our national security will suffer."

When Congress reconvenes on Monday, Members of the House have a choice to make: They can empower the trial bar -- or they can empower the intelligence community. They can help class action trial lawyers sue for billions of dollars -- or they can help our intelligence officials protect millions of lives. They can put our national security in the hands of plaintiffs' lawyers -- or they can entrust it to the men and women of our government who work day and night to keep us safe. As they make their choice, Members of Congress must never forget: Somewhere in the world, at this very moment, terrorists are planning the next attack on America. And to protect America from such attacks, we must protect our telecommunications companies from abusive lawsuits.

Thank you for listening.

Bush Bids Farewell to Africa

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush wave to President Boni Yayi of Benin and Madame Chantal de Souza Yayi as they board Air Force One Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, after visiting the African country on the first leg of their five-country trip. The President and Mrs. Bush later arrived in Tanzania, where they will spend two days. (White House photo by Eric Draper )

By Abid Aslam

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (IPS) - In an attempt to polish his image and advance U.S. interests in the twilight of his presidency, George W. Bush is visiting Africa.

Bush's second visit to the continent takes him to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. Officials and commentators say the U.S. enjoys high regard in these countries -- assuring Bush a warm welcome.

While there, Bush will tout the reasons for this goodwill.

"The trip will highlight how the United States has partnered closely with the people of Africa to address the challenges of disease, poverty and security," said Stephen Hadley, Bush’s national security adviser.

"There's more hope in Africa and the American people can be proud that many of our innovative programmes are making a real difference," Hadley told reporters.

Africa has received the lion's share of the nearly 19 billion dollars in goods, services, and cash that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) -- launched by Bush -- will have provided by September, when it is due to lapse on its fifth anniversary.

Bush has said he wants the programme extended and increased to 30 billion dollars. The initiative is popular even among opposition Democrats on Capitol Hill, where analysts say lawmakers could end up giving PEPFAR even more money than Bush has sought.

Africa is also home to more than half of the countries receiving grants from Bush's Millennium Challenge Corporation, which rewards governments for reducing corruption and promoting market economies, among other things.

Additionally, preferential trade deals have resulted in a sevenfold increase in African clothing exports to the U.S., according to official figures here.

Bush has also upgraded Africa's strategic ranking by creating AFRICOM -- the U.S. Africa Command -- to oversee military relations and coordinate aid and diplomatic missions across the continent.

"Its concept, really, is a different command, in some ways," Hadley told reporters Wednesday. "It would be a partnership, really, between military and civilians".

To some, these developments demonstrate the compassion in Bush's politics: More than a million Africans have received life-prolonging AIDS drugs.

To others, the moves reflect strategic machinations. China has emerged as Africa's third largest trading partner and its African commerce and investments are growing exponentially. Furthermore, China and others have secured supplies of African oil, natural gas and minerals, intensifying competition with the United States, which expects to draw one-fourth of its oil from West Africa by 2015.

In any case, Bush appears to have presided over a significant departure from the U.S. neglect of Africa in the years since the Cold War ended.

But, not all the attention has been welcome.

Talk of basing AFRICOM on African soil hit opposition from a number of governments -- including that of regional military power South Africa. The new command began what it terms "initial operations" last October from headquarters in Germany.

Hadley said the new command would build on U.S. efforts to train and transport African peacekeepers. Critics, however, highlighted Washington's unpaid bills for U.N. peacekeeping missions.

"The United States is already more than one billion dollars behind in honouring its commitments to U.N. peacekeeping, and the administration's budget request would add at least another 600 million dollars to our growing and worrisome unpaid peacekeeping assessments," said Deborah Derrick, executive director of the internationalist lobby Better World Campaign.

Bush's 2009 budget will not provide sufficient financing for peacekeeping missions in hot spots from Sudan and Chad to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, and Liberia, Derrick added.

African media and academic commentators, meanwhile, have assailed Washington for backing the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia a year ago to restore a locally discredited but pro-Western transitional government. They chided Washington for turning a deaf ear to subsequent allegations of atrocities and international warnings that a humanitarian catastrophe to eclipse Sudan's was unfolding.

Even PEPFAR has its detractors. Health experts in Africa and other regions covered by the initiative have complained that its impact has been blunted by ideological constraints. One-third of the initiative's money has been reserved to promote abstinence from sex before marriage, and all applicants for financing are required to sign a pledge opposing prostitution.

The federal Government Accountability Office said in 2006 that the abstinence provision was proving counter-productive. In other studies and documentaries aired here, health care providers said the programme's anti- prostitution bias was preventing them from helping the very people most in need of AIDS education and prevention services.

With the initiative up for renewal in September, campaigners here are urging lawmakers to dump these constraints.

"PEPFAR could be a positive legacy of the Bush administration, but only if the new legislation does not repeat the mistakes and limitations of the current programme," said Joe Amon, AIDS director at Human Rights Watch.