If you have watched any of the major news networks in the United States or Great Britain lately you have probably witnessed President Bush's messianic descent on his adoring disciples in "Africa" (Tanzania) every half hour. Forgive me for being frank but isn't George Bush the most unpopular man on the face of the earth? Besides his abysmal approval rating at home it seems like every where he goes, (Australia, Colombia, Malaysia) throngs of protesters come to greet him with Molotov cocktails and the nearest rock or glass bottle. But what in the hell is going on in Africa? According to the press this is Bush's last horray, returning to a continent where he is widely popular and reaping the benefits of his "compassionate" foreign policy. ABC reports "They love George W. Bush in Tanzania. Everywhere he goes thousands of people line the streets and cheer."
I guess they forgot to mention the thousands of Muslims who marched through Tanzania's capital Friday burning U.S. flags and calling for an immediate end to the occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe they were out to lunch when a host of Tanzanian social activists and intellectuals held a rally in opposition to the new U.S. Africa Military Command and unfair trade policies aimed at destroying Tanzania's agriculture sector. It is no secret that during his tour President Bush has skipped conflict areas even in East Africa including Kenya ripped apart by ethnic violence, and the Sudan. Whats surprising is the cuddly relationship between the dominant media and the Bush Administration who have without blinking considered President Bush a success in "Africa" despite widespread evidence to the contrary.
Put the fact the U.S. expects one-quarter of its oil imports will come from Africa by 2015 aside. Pretend that President Bush and the Pentagon didn't invade Somalia a year ago, remove the government and militarily back an Ethiopian onslaught Human Rights Watch says resembles a "systematic extermination". Lets face it, the Bush Administration has given aid to a handful of countries who adopt favorable economic trade arrangements to U.S. interests, and allow the U.S. military to nestle in. Yet, the media continue to claim Bush's victory in "Africa" as if it were a small country. Could you imagine Bush making a deal with China and the media reporting his victory in Asia?
Only a racist and paternalistic news media like ours could ignore resistance and portray President Bush's visit as the return of Christ to save the savages from themselves. Why do we watch this stuff? Television...The only thing left to decide is when will we turn the damn thing off.
