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Bush set for second African tour Bush set for second African tour
(about 10 hours later)
George W Bush is scheduled to begin a tour of Africa, seeking to highlight US aid projects but potentially running into criticism of other US policy. US President George W Bush is starting a tour of Africa in an effort to highlight aid projects.
He is due to leave on Friday for Benin, the first of five countries - though he may be delayed if a key wiretapping bill is held up in Congress. He will first visit the West African nation of Benin, before moving on to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
He will put the emphasis on development but trade policy, military bases and competition from China may also figure. Mr Bush will the impact of the US-funded HIV/Aids initiative, for which he has requested an extra $30bn.
In a BBC interview the US president defended his stance on Darfur. The emphasis will be on development, but trade policy, military bases and competition from China are also expected to be on the agenda.
He said he had decided not to send troops to the Sudanese region, despite what he called a genocide taking place there, partly out of the desire not to send US troops into another Muslim country. In a BBC interview, the US president defended his stance on the Sudanese region of Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died and two million been displaced in a five-year conflict.
He said the US had imposed sanctions on Sudanese leaders and companies, and that he would remind the president of China "that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur".
I've got a firm, heartfelt commitment to the continent of Africa President George W Bush Full interview transcriptBush interview: Your reactionI've got a firm, heartfelt commitment to the continent of Africa President George W Bush Full interview transcriptBush interview: Your reaction
Mr Bush will be making his second presidential tour of Africa, following his first in 2003. He said he had decided not to send troops to the region, despite what he called a genocide taking place there, partly out of the desire not to send US troops into another Muslim country.
He will be travelling with his wife, Laura, to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. He said the US had imposed sanctions on Sudanese leaders and companies, and that he would remind the president of China "that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur".
This is Mr Bush's second presidential tour of Africa, following his first in 2003. He is accompanied by his wife, Laura.
They will visit hospitals, schools and businesses, hoping to show how US investment in health and development programmes has made a real difference to Africans.They will visit hospitals, schools and businesses, hoping to show how US investment in health and development programmes has made a real difference to Africans.
Unfair trade?Unfair trade?
Mr Bush told BBC World News America he had a "firm, heartfelt commitment to the continent of Africa".
US aid to Africa has grown rapidly since Mr Bush entered the White House in 2001. Billions of dollars have been pumped into programmes supplying anti-retroviral drugs to Aids patients.US aid to Africa has grown rapidly since Mr Bush entered the White House in 2001. Billions of dollars have been pumped into programmes supplying anti-retroviral drugs to Aids patients.
But there are many questions over the effectiveness of the US Aids programme, says the BBC's international development correspondent David Loyn.
Some activists are concerned that assistance can only be directed through programmes with a moral agenda.
PRESIDENT BUSH'S ITINERARY Benin - Cotonou: arrival ceremony, meets president Tanzania - Dar-es-Salaam: meets president, tours hospital; Arusha: tours hospital, textile mill and girls' schoolRwanda - Kigali: meets president, visits genocide memorial Ghana - Accra: meets president, state dinner Liberia - Monrovia: meets president, visits university 'Mercy and realism' on visitRice to visit KenyaPRESIDENT BUSH'S ITINERARY Benin - Cotonou: arrival ceremony, meets president Tanzania - Dar-es-Salaam: meets president, tours hospital; Arusha: tours hospital, textile mill and girls' schoolRwanda - Kigali: meets president, visits genocide memorial Ghana - Accra: meets president, state dinner Liberia - Monrovia: meets president, visits university 'Mercy and realism' on visitRice to visit Kenya
President Bush will meet HIV positive people now making a great deal of their lives thanks to the life-saving drugs, which the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief has helped to fund.
But there are many questions over the effectiveness of the US Aids programme, says the BBC's international development correspondent David Loyn.
There may also be criticism of US trade policy, which international aid agencies say undermine struggling African economies.There may also be criticism of US trade policy, which international aid agencies say undermine struggling African economies.
Benin relies on cotton production, for instance - but cannot compete with US cotton because of the subsidies paid to US farmers. Benin relies on cotton production, for instance - but cannot compete with US cotton because of the large subsidies paid to US farmers.
"If George Bush comes here without something concrete to say about our everyday livelihood, he needn't bother," Beninese cotton grower Ali Assi Mabdou told the news agency AFP."If George Bush comes here without something concrete to say about our everyday livelihood, he needn't bother," Beninese cotton grower Ali Assi Mabdou told the news agency AFP.
"US cotton growers get subsidies and so they make a better living than us. What does Mr Bush make of that?" Analysts say Mr Bush may also be concerned with countering the influence of China - which has been doing billions of dollars worth of trade deals in Africa.
The president may also be on the lookout for somewhere to station the US military's Africa command (Africom). Many countries are wary of offering to assist. Also likely to be on the agenda during the six-day trip is the location of a new American military command headquarters, known as Africom, whose primary role, according to Mr Bush, will be to work with African militaries to deal with trafficking or terror.
Mr Bush may also be concerned with countering the influence of China - which has been doing billions of dollars worth of trade deals in Africa, without asking awkward questions about democracy or human rights. So far, Liberia is the only nation to have offered to host the US base. There are already some 1,700 US troops in Djibouti.
  • Mr Bush has threatened to delay his trip if the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives does not quickly pass a bill on the wiretapping of foreign terror suspects.
    		• Correspondents say the idea of an increased US military presence makes regional powers such as South Africa and Nigeria wary.