President Bush doubled aid to Africa today, with the sole requirement that African leaders commit to honest government. That’s all fine and good, but I question the phrase “honest” government. Honesty is a subjective term–especially when it comes to politics, where complete honesty can lead to huge problems. In this case, honesty is being defined by the US government. I think Africa needs more aid and I agree with Bush, simply handing them the money with no reform is not going to help as much as possible. But defining these standards by ourselves is a bad idea. Such definitions of “honesty” should be decided upon by groups like the UN. I’m also disturbed that Bush feels that the one of the biggest ways of helping Africa is by encouraging trade. Again, this could be fine, but I can see this going more in the favor of the US than Africa. We don’t want to encourage trade to the point that Africans are exploiting their natural resources.
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Arcade
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Affiliations
30 Jun
Bush and Africa