President Bush arrives in Ghana on the fourth leg of a five-nation Africa tour. He spent the day in Rwanda visiting U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS clinics, cutting the ribbon on a new U.S. embassy and paying tribute to the victims of Rwanda's genocide as well as that tiny nation's contributions to the international peacekeeping force in Darfur.
President Bush met with Ghanaian President John Kufou, who showed particular concern about U.S. plans to build a military headquarters on the continent. With the exception of Liberia, no African nation has publicly shown enthusiasm for hosting the facility known as AFRICOM.
"There are rumors around Ghana: 'All Bush is coming to do is to get you to build military bases.' Well, that's baloney. Or, as they say in Texas, that's bull," President Bush said.
The two men seemed in harmony on U.S. efforts to beat back malaria, HIV/AIDS and a raft of other illnesses that bedevil the continent. The U.S. president announced millions more dollars in aid to Ghana. Even his critics say the lives saved in Africa as a result of such policies may be the most important achievement of his administration.
He leaves Thursday for Liberia, the final stop on his Africa tour.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
