Bush Could Score Points in Africa
By Bashir Goth
The Current Discussion: The G-8 summit is Bush's last hurrah as a world leader. What's one thing he can do to strengthen his legacy?

If there is one thing that President Bush can achieve in the dying days of his presidency, it should involve Africa. Everything else seems to be complex and too messed up to even think of fixing in the time available. Regarding the Arab-Israeli issue, it is obvious that Bush cannot undo in six months a problem that is sixty years old. He must have encountered the insurmountable walls of the Middle East peace during his two-term presidency. His trusted State Secretary’s frequent visits and proverbial skills couldn’t put the Middle East’s Humpty Dumpty together again.


The situation in Afghanistan and Iraq could also be added to the Humpty basket although history may treat the situation of these two countries differently long after the Bush era is gone.
One place however that Bush can score highly and pragmatically is Africa. As food and fuel prices spiral and the worry about impending and continent-wide hunger adds more burden on the already stretched economies of Africa, Bush can initiate an African agricultural revolution by initiating a Marshall Plan to provide necessary equipment and expertise to African farmers to increase both the quality and quantity of their produce and their competitiveness in world markets.

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