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American Morning
President Bush in Africa
Aired March 05, 2001 - 07:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From fighting AIDS to fighting terrorism, President Bush's five-nation tour of Africa under way today. He says that trip shows the world that America has a heart as well as muscle. The president arrived in Senegal, his first stop in a week-long trip that will also take him to South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and finally Nigeria.
Chris Burns is traveling with the president. He's live in Senegal with us.
And, Chris, first off, the message from the president in his first speech just minutes away, what is the message there?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, the president will be speaking on Goree Island. We can give you a quick look at Goree Island. The president is going to be speaking there in a few moments. He's visiting what is called the "slave house." It was built back in 1776, called "the point of no return," where millions of slaves were sent to the Americas hundreds of years ago. The president will be talking about that sort of moral obligation and historical link between Africa and the United States, the Americas and the U.S. obligation in helping Africa.
Now especially the question of whether the U.S. will commit troops. President Bush is coming with billions of dollars of commitments to help Africa. But will he commit troops? That is the big question.
He has met this morning with eight African leaders, some of them part of ECOWAS, the West African grouping of nations. They talked about Liberia. This is a country made of former U.S. slaves that now could descend into another round of bloodbath.
And will President Bush commit troops? Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the process of determining what is necessary to maintain the cease-fire and to allow for a peaceful transfer of power. We're working very closely with ECOWAS. The president of ECOWAS is with us today, the president of Ghana. He and I have had a good discussion. I assured him we'll participate in the process. And we're now in the process of determining what that means.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNS: So, now President Bush is being noncommittal about troops, but wanting to help. The president also pledging billions of dollars in funding to help fight AIDS and to fight poverty, to try to shore up some of the governments there. This being a strategic question, too, because the White House sees shoring up failed or failing states as a way to fight terrorism, which could breed in those countries -- Bill.
HEMMER: Chris Burns live in Senegal. That speech, again, anticipated in about 15 minutes. We'll have it live for you from Senegal in West Africa.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
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Aired March 05, 2001 - 07:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From fighting AIDS to fighting terrorism, President Bush's five-nation tour of Africa under way today. He says that trip shows the world that America has a heart as well as muscle. The president arrived in Senegal, his first stop in a week-long trip that will also take him to South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and finally Nigeria.
Chris Burns is traveling with the president. He's live in Senegal with us.
And, Chris, first off, the message from the president in his first speech just minutes away, what is the message there?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, the president will be speaking on Goree Island. We can give you a quick look at Goree Island. The president is going to be speaking there in a few moments. He's visiting what is called the "slave house." It was built back in 1776, called "the point of no return," where millions of slaves were sent to the Americas hundreds of years ago. The president will be talking about that sort of moral obligation and historical link between Africa and the United States, the Americas and the U.S. obligation in helping Africa.
Now especially the question of whether the U.S. will commit troops. President Bush is coming with billions of dollars of commitments to help Africa. But will he commit troops? That is the big question.
He has met this morning with eight African leaders, some of them part of ECOWAS, the West African grouping of nations. They talked about Liberia. This is a country made of former U.S. slaves that now could descend into another round of bloodbath.
And will President Bush commit troops? Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the process of determining what is necessary to maintain the cease-fire and to allow for a peaceful transfer of power. We're working very closely with ECOWAS. The president of ECOWAS is with us today, the president of Ghana. He and I have had a good discussion. I assured him we'll participate in the process. And we're now in the process of determining what that means.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNS: So, now President Bush is being noncommittal about troops, but wanting to help. The president also pledging billions of dollars in funding to help fight AIDS and to fight poverty, to try to shore up some of the governments there. This being a strategic question, too, because the White House sees shoring up failed or failing states as a way to fight terrorism, which could breed in those countries -- Bill.
HEMMER: Chris Burns live in Senegal. That speech, again, anticipated in about 15 minutes. We'll have it live for you from Senegal in West Africa.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
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