Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - June 8, 2005
Blair wants to direct a reluctant White House to a new challenge: reclaiming Africa via a major relief effort. It's a deserving goal put before a decidedly cool administration.
The British -- along with most of the G-8 wealthy nations -- want to spend $25 billion over a decade to pull Africa back from the brink. There are plenty of doubts -- corruption, civil war and misgovernment -- but the African continent needs a modern-day Marshall Plan.
Sensing Bush's objections, the Blair team is already giving ground. Let's hope that he won't settle for crumbs, such as Tuesday's announced $674 million in famine aid from the White House. Rebuilding Africa will take more than a one-time relief effort. It will mean steady, sustained aid from a coalition of big countries.
Africa's downward spiral is a scandal. Choose any index -- clean water, miles of paved roads, child soldiers or AIDS -- and its countries will rank in the cellar. But pick potential riches such as natural resources, agriculture and human capital, and Africa can be a prime contender.
The hard part is finding a message that appeals to the future, not the past. Bush believes he's doing enough, such as a five-year pledge to spend $15 billion on AIDS and a slow-starting Millennium Challenge that channels aid to countries that promise government and business reforms.
It's not enough, and Blair, knocked by the press as Bush's obedient poodle, should press for more. What's needed is increased foreign aid, removal of trade barriers and debt forgiveness for the worst-off countries. It's a varied and complicated list, but Blair is the one foreign leader who can budge Bush off dead-center.
What it will take to rescue Africa is a monumental political commitment. The U.S. share of the $25 billion outlined by Blair is $6 billion. The other G- 8 countries may try to plead poverty and dodge the bill. Also, the civil war in the Darfur region of Sudan, Ethiopian famine or despotic rule in Zimbabwe can chill public support.
Blair is right to confront these issues with more than rhetoric. Bush needs to do more than listen.
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