PRESIDENT BUSH is ready to commit more American resources to Africa, but only for countries that put their houses in order, he has told The Times days before the G8 summit.
“We will make some more commitments . . . Our contribution has been significant and there will be some more,” said Mr Bush, who will today announce a three-pronged package to fight malaria, fund schools and promote the empowerment of African women.
In an exclusive Oval Office interview with The Times, Mr Bush branded Robert Mugabe a tyrant who had ruined his country, but said that he would not attach strings to US food aid because that would punish ordinary Zimbabweans.
On the other big issue of the Gleneagles summit, Mr Bush offered another nod towards Tony Blair, saying that he was committed to finding new energy sources to replace fossil fuels and conceded that Americans would have to end their love affair with gas-guzzling cars. “We are leading the way,” he insisted.
The President told Europe not to become distracted by turmoil from the French and Dutch rejections of the new European Union constitution.
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He also warned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new Iranian President, that his first test was whether he was prepared to negotiate in good faith with Britain, France and Germany about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Mr Bush rejected criticism that he had failed to return the support that Mr Blair had shown him. He and the Prime Minister did not sit down to calculate a series of “quid pro quos”, he said. Instead, they shared visions that were “positive, hopeful and optimistic”.
“That’s what makes us a great alliance,” Mr Bush said. “The decisions we have made have laid the foundations for peace for generations.”
On a lighter note, he also said that he was looking forward to walking with his wife, Laura, in the Scottish mists, but had no intention of eating haggis. “I was briefed on haggis. No,” he said.
Mr Bush’s comments on the twin priorities of Mr Blair’s term as president of the G8 — Africa and climate change — offer some hope for the Gleneagles summit but fall short of the Prime Minister’s original ambitious goals.
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On Africa, President Bush indicated to campaigners and the organisers of the Live 8 concerts that he was ready to be more generous. “I believe in the admonition, ‘To whom much has been given, much is required’,” he said.
He said that he wanted to speed up the flow of African aid money passing through Congress but made it clear that US donations depended on African leaders spending money on health and education projects, while tackling corruption.
He took issue with Mr Blair’s aim of doubling global aid to Africa to $50 billion (£28 billion) and disagreed with campaigners who say that the 0.16 per cent of US GDP that Washington spends on overseas aid is too low.
Mr Bush said that he wanted a relationship of partnership with African countries. “That’s different than a relationship of cheque-writer. In other words, partnership means that we’ve got obligations and so do the people we’re trying to help.”
Americans wanted to help to combat poverty and hunger. But they wanted assurances that their money was being well spent. “I can’t, in all good faith, say, ‘Let’s continue to be generous, but I can’t guarantee the money is being spent properly’. It’s not good stewardship of our own money, nor is it effective in helping the people.”
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Mr Bush has often shied away from endorsing the science of global warming, but he said that greenhouse gases were creating “a long-term problem”. Leaders and scientists had to find a way “to drive better, to have better engines for our cars and different fuel sources for cars”.
The President said that he wanted to move the world beyond Kyoto, the protocol that capped the carbon emissions of signature countries, an approach that he refuses to endorse. But he praised Mr Blair for inviting China and India to Gleneagles, raising hopes that a limited deal may yet emerge.
Mr Bush said that, despite the atrocities of the Mugabe regime, he would not restrict US aid to Zimbabwe because that would hurt the wrong people. “I don’t think you ought to punish the people of Africa because of the man who’s in power. He’s already done that.”
Mr Bush said he was watching carefully the chaos that has gripped the EU since the rejection of its constitution. He said that a viable EU was critical to the US. “We want to have a partner that is viable and strong. Strong friends make it easier to get things done.”
But he was optimistic that, over time, the EU would deal with its current problems.