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CNN Saturday Morning News

President Bush Wraps up Five-Nation Africa Tour in Nigeria

Aired July 12, 2003 - 09:01   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush leaves Nigeria within the hour, wrapping up his five-nation Africa tour. A furor over Iraqi weapons and a claim made in his State of the Union address followed the president to Africa, and he's still dealing with it on his final day of his tour.
Chris Burns is with the president in Nigeria, and Bob Franken is covering developments from Washington.

Let's begin with Chris. He's trying not to be upstaged by the controversy, but it seems to be following him every step he makes, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, yes, Fredricka, the -- it's true. Very, very difficult for the president to get away from the issue, though.

Over my shoulder, you can see an example of what the president talks about, great diversity and great promise for this continent of Africa. He just moments ago finished his sum-up speech about his efforts to try to bring development to Africa.

But at the same time, when he was asked by reporters, any questions from American reporters here usually have to do with Iraq and the fact that there is controversy now over the State of the Union speech that the president gave back on January 28, saying that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium from Africa.

That, the White House later said, could not be backed up. And now there's plenty of controversy over that. The -- George Tenet, the CIA director, said yesterday, that, yes, it was a mistake to put in there, in the State of the Union message. President Bush, again, having to answer about that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got confidence in George Tenet. I've got confidence in the men and women who work at the CIA. And I continue to look forward to working with them and as we win this war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: But now President Bush, of course, did take this last stop here in Nigeria, it is a country 130 million people in a Texas- sized land, 70 percent of the country lives on a dollar a day. And yet, it is the fifth-largest oil exporter to the United States. So, again, great diversity, great promise, great challenges.

The president talking about all of these programs, fighting AIDS, $15 billion over five years, trying to promote reform in these governments here, $10 billion over the next three years. A number of other programs the president (UNINTELLIGIBLE) used this speech to press Congress to try to provide the money to do that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Work of the summit to promote commerce and understanding across the Atlantic is important work. And I am determined that the American government will do its part. We will help nations on this continent to achieve greater health and education and trade with the world. Working together, we can help make this a decade of rising prosperity and expanding peace across Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, what about boots on ground in Liberia? That country that's on the brink of more civil war, more bloodshed there, a former -- a nation that was created by former American slaves. President Bush, once again, pressing Charles Taylor, the president there, to leave the country.

Now, Nigeria is very key in that, because President Ubasanjo (ph) here is going to give him exile. But they got to get peacekeepers on the ground. President Bush has yet to promise peacekeepers per se, but he did say he was going to work very closely with the United Nations and West African countries to try to get peacekeepers in there to stabilize the situation.

Once again, this idea, this part of this trip here, was to prop, to try to prop up and aid these failing or failed states in, on this continent, to try to prevent them from becoming breeding grounds for terrorism. Very much a part of the president's visit here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Burns, thanks very much from Abuja in Nigeria.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Nigeria>


Aired July 12, 2003 - 09:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush leaves Nigeria within the hour, wrapping up his five-nation Africa tour. A furor over Iraqi weapons and a claim made in his State of the Union address followed the president to Africa, and he's still dealing with it on his final day of his tour.
Chris Burns is with the president in Nigeria, and Bob Franken is covering developments from Washington.

Let's begin with Chris. He's trying not to be upstaged by the controversy, but it seems to be following him every step he makes, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, yes, Fredricka, the -- it's true. Very, very difficult for the president to get away from the issue, though.

Over my shoulder, you can see an example of what the president talks about, great diversity and great promise for this continent of Africa. He just moments ago finished his sum-up speech about his efforts to try to bring development to Africa.

But at the same time, when he was asked by reporters, any questions from American reporters here usually have to do with Iraq and the fact that there is controversy now over the State of the Union speech that the president gave back on January 28, saying that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium from Africa.

That, the White House later said, could not be backed up. And now there's plenty of controversy over that. The -- George Tenet, the CIA director, said yesterday, that, yes, it was a mistake to put in there, in the State of the Union message. President Bush, again, having to answer about that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got confidence in George Tenet. I've got confidence in the men and women who work at the CIA. And I continue to look forward to working with them and as we win this war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: But now President Bush, of course, did take this last stop here in Nigeria, it is a country 130 million people in a Texas- sized land, 70 percent of the country lives on a dollar a day. And yet, it is the fifth-largest oil exporter to the United States. So, again, great diversity, great promise, great challenges.

The president talking about all of these programs, fighting AIDS, $15 billion over five years, trying to promote reform in these governments here, $10 billion over the next three years. A number of other programs the president (UNINTELLIGIBLE) used this speech to press Congress to try to provide the money to do that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Work of the summit to promote commerce and understanding across the Atlantic is important work. And I am determined that the American government will do its part. We will help nations on this continent to achieve greater health and education and trade with the world. Working together, we can help make this a decade of rising prosperity and expanding peace across Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, what about boots on ground in Liberia? That country that's on the brink of more civil war, more bloodshed there, a former -- a nation that was created by former American slaves. President Bush, once again, pressing Charles Taylor, the president there, to leave the country.

Now, Nigeria is very key in that, because President Ubasanjo (ph) here is going to give him exile. But they got to get peacekeepers on the ground. President Bush has yet to promise peacekeepers per se, but he did say he was going to work very closely with the United Nations and West African countries to try to get peacekeepers in there to stabilize the situation.

Once again, this idea, this part of this trip here, was to prop, to try to prop up and aid these failing or failed states in, on this continent, to try to prevent them from becoming breeding grounds for terrorism. Very much a part of the president's visit here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Burns, thanks very much from Abuja in Nigeria.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Nigeria>