Chicago Tribune - July 8, 2003

Taylor is demanding that international peacekeepers, including U.S. forces, arrive before his departure. "When they arrive, bingo. There's an exit," he told the Associated Press on Monday.

With the arrival of a U.S. military team on Monday to assess the security situation in Liberia, it seems only a matter of days, perhaps hours, until President Bush agrees to join such a peacekeeping force. No doubt, though, the administration intends to define the word "bingo" for Taylor. Peacekeepers will not be installed to assure that Taylor has plenty of time to pack his bags. Bingo means, you're gone.

Then the world can cheer with abandon.

The U.S. will join another nation-building exercise on the watch of a president who used to scoff at the very notion of nation-building.

The U.S., though, has a historic connection to Liberia and a national security interest in bringing peace and stability there. Taylor's regime has been connected to diamond-smuggling operations that financed Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

As Taylor prepares for a departure, Bush arrives on Tuesday for a five-day, five-nation Africa tour on which he intends to emphasize that economic progress in Africa is essential to U.S. interests. He intends to steer clear of Africa's many hot spots and focus on the countries that have made headway in democratic development and in reducing HIV infection rates.

Africans might rightly be skeptical of American presidents bearing promises on quickie visits. Five years ago Bill Clinton made a 12-day, six-nation tour of Africa and similarly emphasized health, education and free markets. Africa today has little to show for that excursion.

Bush will significantly expand American policy in three noteworthy directions:

First, his emphasis on security, including $100 million to beef up security at African airports and seaports, in response to terrorism.

Second, his surprisingly bold promise of $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS in 12 African and two Caribbean countries.

Third, the administration has proposed a Millennium Challenge Account to increase foreign aid by $5 billion a year, mostly to Africa, for countries that rule justly and encourage economic freedom.

Bush has reason to be proud of all three, but he should be wary of going to Africa and offering empty gift boxes. The administration and Congress are already scaling down the president's commitments for 2004 to the Millennium Challenge Account and the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

The drama in Liberia may overshadow Bush's visit to Africa. But the situation there complements Bush's agenda very well. Africa has enormous resources, and enormous problems. It cannot hope to thrive when so many nations are wracked by war, despotic rule and stunning HIV/AIDS rates. Charles Taylor's one-way ticket to exile won't solve those problems, but it will be a great sign of progress.

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