Lessons from Africa: Bush’s leadership fails to inspire

After threatening to delay his trip to Africa over a new FISA bill, Bush eventually gave up his fear mongering and decided to pack his bags after all. And if you’re like me, you look forward to the barrage of hypocritical language that inevitably follows a George Bush international tour of political hackery. 

In his first full interview in seven years with the BBC, Bush delivers some telling lines about his inability to grasp the impact of his failed policies across the globe, not to mention his less than stellar grasp of the English language. In response to whether America is slipping back into Cold War thinking, Bush states, “I happen to believe we’re in an ideological struggle. And, those who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives are evil people.”  Although the discussion turns to the genocide in Darfur, one is reminded of the thousands of innocent Iraqis who have lost their lives since the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

But thankfully, Bush has recognized the need for action in Darfur, where innocent lives are taken away daily in a horrific genocide. Now, if only Darfur had a few WMDs. Speaking from Rwanda, Bush gave some advice to the next President of the U.S., since it is “clearly” too late for him to do anything about it. Bush said, “I would urge the (next) president not to feel like U.S. solutions should be imposed upon African leaders.” Impose our will upon other countries? Bush wouldn’t dare.

He continued his words of wisdom, saying, “Take problems seriously before they become acute, and then recognize that there’s going to be a slowness in the response if you rely upon international organizations.” Indeed, those dreaded bureaucratic organizations keep getting in the way. Unfortunately for Darfur, Bush’s rhetoric has failed to inspire the international community to jump on board his call for action. Instead, his foreign policy decisions in response to 9-11 has ruined his credibility, as America desperately awaits new leadership to engage the international community with respect and understanding.