dcsh 2008-2-15 08:14 PM
Bush defends US record on Darfur
Bush defends US record on Darfur
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President Bush says Africa has been a foreign policy priority
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[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7240000/newsid_7245600?redirect=7245628.stm&news=1&bbram=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&asb=1][img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif[/img][b]Bush interview[/b][/url]
[/td] [/tr] [/table] [b]US President George W Bush has defended his decision not to sendtroops to the Sudanese region of Darfur, despite what he calls agenocide taking place there.[/b][/size][size=2]He called it a "seminal decision" not to intervene withforce, taken partly out of the desire not to send US troops intoanother Muslim country. [/size]
[size=2]Mr Bush was speaking to BBC World News America before flying to Africa. [/size]
[size=2]He also discussed controversy over China's Olympics - saying he would attend the event as scheduled.[/size]
[size=2]After Hollywood director Steven Spielberg withdrew hisassistance to the Olympics in protest at China's policy towards Darfur,Mr Bush said he would not be taking a similar stance. [/size]
[size=2]"I view the Olympics as a sporting event," he told the BBC's Matt Frei. [/size]
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[img=24,13]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif[/img] [b]I've got a firm, heartfelt commitment to the continent of Africa [/b] [img=23,13]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif[/img]
President George W Bush
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[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7245670.stm][b]Full interview transcript[/b][/url]
[url=http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4293&edition=2][b]Bush interview: Your reaction[/b][/url]
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[size=2]But he added that he would meet Chinese President HuJintao and "remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering inDarfur". [/size]
[size=2]Mr Bush is scheduled to leave on Friday for his secondtour of Africa - though he said on Thursday he might be delayed if acrucial wiretapping bill was held up in Congress. [/size]
[size=2]He is due to visit Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. [/size]
[size=2]The president will be travelling with his wife, Laura. [/size]
[size=2]They will visit hospitals, schools and businesses,hoping to show how US investment in health and development programmeshas made a real difference to Africans. [/size]
[size=2][b]Aid promises[/b][/size]
[size=2]Mr Bush said he had a "firm, heartfelt commitment to the continent of Africa". [/size]
[size=2]But he said it was also in the interest of US and global security to tackle poverty there. [/size]
[size=2] [table=208] [tr] [td=1,1,5][img=5,1]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif[/img][/td] [td] WATCH FULL BUSH INTERVIEW - ON TV
[b]Newsnight[/b], BBC Two, 2230 GMT, Thursday
[b]BBC World News America[/b], via [i]BBC News 24[/i], Friday, 0030 GMT
BBC World News America, via [i]BBC World[/i] (outside UK only), Friday, 0000 GMT / 1900 ET / 1600 PT
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[size=2]"We have people who are suffering from disease andhunger and hopelessness. The only way a radical can recruit is to findsomebody who's hopeless," he said. [/size]
[size=2]US aid to Africa has grown rapidly since Mr Bush enteredthe White House in 2001. He said on Thursday it had doubled over hisfirst term and was set to double again by 2010. [/size]
[size=2]Asked by Matt Frei if he felt he had got the credit hedeserved for such investment, Mr Bush replied: "I'm not one of theseguys that really gives a darn about elite opinion. What I really careabout is - are we saving lives?" [/size]
[size=2][b]Interrogation bill veto[/b][/size]
[size=2]Mr Bush will not visit Kenya, where inter-ethnic violence erupted after recent disputed elections, or Sudan. [/size]
[size=2]But his aides say he will discuss both crises with African leaders during his trip.[/size]
[size=2] [table=208] [tr] [td][img=5,1]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif[/img][/td] [td] PRESIDENT BUSH'S ITINERARY
[b]Benin[/b] - Cotonou: arrival ceremony, meets president
[b]Tanzania[/b] - Dar-es-Salaam: meets president, tours hospital; Arusha: tours hospital, textile mill and girls' school
[b]Rwanda[/b] - Kigali: meets president, visits genocide memorial
[b]Ghana[/b] - Accra: meets president, state dinner
[b]Liberia[/b] - Monrovia: meets president, visits university
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[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7245442.stm][b]Rice to visit Kenya[/b][/url]
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[size=2]Mr Bush condemned the government of Robert Mugabe inZimbabwe and said he would put more pressure on neighbouring SouthAfrica to find a diplomatic solution. [/size]
[size=2]"I just happen to believe their government could do more to enhance a free society in their region," he said.[/size]
[size=2]Talking about events at home, he defended his threat toveto a bill passed by the US Senate outlawing the interrogationtechnique of water-boarding, dismissing fears that that might send anegative message around the world.[/size]
[size=2]Asked whether America still occupied the moral highground after Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Mr Bush gave a crisplyblunt answer, our interviewer says.[/size]
[size=2]"Absolutely," he replied. "We believe in human rightsand human dignity. We believe in the human condition. We believe infreedom."[/size]
[size=2]Mr Bush was similarly robust in his defence of hisactions in Iraq, saying: "The decision to move Saddam Hussein wasright. And this democracy is now taking root. And I'm confident that ifAmerica does not become isolationist - you know, and allow theterrorists to take back over, Iraq will succeed."[/size]
