Kevin J Kelley
26 August 2008
Denver — A Democratic Party fringe meeting in Denver yesterday considered the question of whether having an American president with family in Africa will affect US policy toward Africa, particularly in regard to the Aids epidemic.
Yes, it will, declared African-American Congressman John Conyers, a hero of the 1960s' civil rights movement and a longtime campaigner on global health initiatives.
"A president who is an American with African roots would make a huge statement not only to Africa but to the entire world," Congressman Conyers said. "Barack Obama is going to put America back into the global family."
The Democratic Party's campaign platform, which closely reflects the views of the Obama camp, emphasises US moves to help develop Africa's economic potential.
"We are committed to bringing the full weight of American leadership to bear in unlocking the spirit of entrepreneurship and economic independence that is sweeping across markets of Africa," the policy document states.
Monday's session at a Denver church about one mile from the convention site was sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America, a party pressure group that favours left-leaning policies. Speakers on health-care issues relentlessly bashed the Bush administration for allowing the United States to remain the only developed country without a state-sponsored programme of comprehensive health insurance.
But on the topic of Aids in Africa, black Congresswoman Barbara Lee did acknowledge that President George W Bush has done much more than his predecessors.
Allocated billions
The President's Emergency Programme for Aids Relief (Pepfar) has allocated billions of dollars in recent years to finance treatment for millions of HIV-positive Africans. Thousands of Kenyans remain alive today because Pepfar has provided them with drugs that greatly weaken the Aids virus' capacity to kill those whom it infects.
Congresswoman Lee said Pepfar should be modified, however, to give beneficiary countries more autonomy in deciding how to address their respective Aids epidemics.
Congressman Conyers noted that he and other Democrats had managed to "beat back" the Bush administration's proposal to establish a US military command for Africa. This Africom initiative is no longer envisioned as involving the stationing of US troops on the continent.
The Detroit congressman called Africom "the latest attempt to re-colonise Africa."
Meanwhile, ailing Senator Edward Kennedy, head of America's most fabled political family, offered a rousing tribute to Barack Obama yesterday in an emotional appearance that had many fellow Democrats near tears.
Diagnosed in May with brain cancer, Kennedy, 76, walked unaided to the podium of the Democratic convention to address a roaring crowd holding a sea of blue "Kennedy" signs and chanting his name.
"This November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans," Kennedy said, borrowing from the 1961 inaugural speech of his slain brother John Kennedy.
"The work begins anew. The hope rises again and the dream lives on," Kennedy said, echoing his famous 1980 convention speech after losing to Jimmy Carter. At that time he said: "The dream shall never die."
Kennedy, who endorsed Obama earlier this year at a pivotal moment in the Illinois senator's presidential nominating duel with Hillary Clinton, was diagnosed on May 17 with a malignant brain tumor called a glioma, which usually kills within three years.
But after a day of speculation about whether he would feel like speaking to the convention, Kennedy addressed the convention forcefully.
"It is so wonderful to be here, and nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight," said Kennedy.
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The tone of the article is one of optimism for Africa, but placed primarily on the election of B.H. Obama. The writer(s) were professional enough to bring to the fore that the present president of the USA has done more to combat AIDS in Africa than any other . . not mentioned is that he has done the same for many others. (Note how even the most jaded ‘rock stars’, et al, have never campaigned against him ~ they (and African reps) thought they would ‘shock’ him with the amount of money needed. President Bush not only agreed, but added Billions to that total.) Congressman Conyers speaks about AfriCom as “the latest attempt to re-colonize Africa.” This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard coming from anyone, anywhere, let alone a US congressman. Statements like these are known as “pandering” to the public; this is not only beneath his position as a public official, but an embarrassment to the average citizen of the United States of America. The US not only has never ‘colonized’, but has done more than any nation in history to undo that vile term. (The USA was once a colony, remember?) The aim of AfriCom is as far from colonization as one may get. Yes, US interests are involved ~ because it was finally figured out that a world at peace is a much better place to be.