In The News

Critical of U.S. Policies, Africans Are Giving Bush Chilly Reception

Dana Milbank July 10, 2003
African commentators refuse to tip-toe around the tough topics. Though US President Bush and South African President Mbeki carefully avoided contentious issues at their meeting, newspapers refused to muffle criticism of America's foreign policies and continued to express doubt about the sincerity of the superpower's interest in Africa. In general, says this Washington Post article,...

Bush, in Africa, Promises Aid but Offers No Troops for Liberia

Richard W. Stevenson July 9, 2003
As his first trip to Africa commences, US President Bush is promising to promote democracy, fight AIDS, and increase trade with the continent, but he is offering no immediate assistance in the current bloodbath in Liberia. This reluctance to commit troops to the war torn country belies the emphasis Bush will be placing on the problems plaguing failing states like Liberia over the course of his...

There is More to Transatlantic Relations Than Security

Jeffrey E. Garten July 9, 2003
Residual anger about the Iraq War needn’t impede economic cooperation between the US and Europe, maintains Jeffrey Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management. According to Garten, accusations of continued American unilateralism are largely exaggerated. US President Bush is currently engaged in multilateral global trade negotiations, regional economic discussions, and anti-AIDS efforts that...

Preservation of Asia’s Forests: A Global Hurdle

Takeshi Toma July 9, 2003
The destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests is a local problem with global consequences and solutions, this Jakarta Post article maintains. While forests provide integral resources both locally and globally, curbing their degradation requires a collective effort. The recently formed Asia Forest Partnership (AFP), comprised now of 10 member countries, provides an excellent start. However,...

Closing Doors to Growth

July 8, 2003
Having the most closed markets in the world is nothing to be proud of, this editorial in an influential Indian business daily maintains. According to a recent World Trade Organization report, less globalized countries saw per capita income growth just 0.9 percent per annum, while those that were highly globalized saw annual incomes grow by 4.3 percent. Therefore, the editorial argues, if India...

African Pundits Heckle Bush for ‘Safari’

Jefferson Morley July 8, 2003
Africa’s online media has been attacking US President Bush’s agenda even before his five-day trip around the continent got under way.. Journalists in each of the countries he is visiting – as well as in some that he’s not – doubt Bush’s sincerity and motivations vocally or tacitly. Concern over American hegemony figured prominently in the South African and Zambian press, which maintained Bush...

A Helping Hand from Bush to Africans?

Abdallah Abu-Younis July 8, 2003
US President Bush’s agenda for his upcoming trip to Africa is packed with high stakes issues. AIDS, poverty, corruption, and state failure run rampant across the continent, threatening US interests by providing the shroud of chaos for terrorist groups. However, as this editorial in The Arab News points out, Bush must be careful not to generalize about Africa’s problems and solutions. African...