Kirk Watson: “As we mark the first anniversary of the President's historic tour of Africa, we cannot help but wonder when, if ever…”

“As we mark the first anniversary of the President's historic tour of Africa, we cannot help but wonder when, if ever, the government of this country will end the ``promise game'' they are so adept at playing with the peoples of Africa. The administration's whirlwind, 1-week tour was ostensibly undertaken in pursuance of a policy ``to work with others for an African continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing prosperity.'' It offered a laundry list of financial aid and development initiatives that could wipe out its poverty and dependence. It is up to us to insist that the promises are kept and not relegated to unfunded programs for Africa, so characteristic of compassionate conservatives. Startled by the realities of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a threat potentially more devastating than global terrorism, the administration announced a tripling of its relatively modest commitment to battling the spread of the dreaded disease in Africa. The proposed $15 billion appropriation over the next 5 years in a region in which the pandemic has infected more than 30 million people, a tenth of them being children under the age of 15, is a drop in the bucket compared to the several billions we are committing annually to the pursuit of geopolitical strategies of a significantly less danger to the world at large.”