Bush open to Liberia hosting US military command15 Feb 2008 21:27:16 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - President George W.
Bush said on Friday the possible shift of the U.S.
military command for Africa to the continent from its
current home in Germany will be on the agenda as he
meets with leaders of five African countries.
Bush on Friday departed for a six-day trip to Africa
to highlight one of the few bright spots in his foreign
policy agenda, assistance to HIV/AIDS victims and
helping budding businesses. He will visit Tanzania,
Ghana, Benin, Liberia and Rwanda.
But the conflicts in Darfur and Kenya will also be on
the agenda, as well as lobbying from African leaders on
where to locate the new Africa Command headquarters,
known as Africom, whose primary mission will be to work
with African militaries.
-snip-"Africom is a brand new concept aimed at strengthening
nations' capacities to deal with trafficking or terror, but
also to help nations develop forces capable of doing the
peacekeeping that unfortunately too often is needed on
the continent," Bush said.
-snip-