Remarkably, this article DOES NOT MENTION THE ONGOING DARFUR GENOCIDE. The Bush Administration has actively undermined efforts to stop this because its ties with the Sudanese government are a higher priority with the "Culture Of Life" gang in the capitol.
See these previous threads on Darfur:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3724411Thread title: “STOPPING THE DARFUR GENOCIDE: We need ANSWERS to these QUESTIONS:”
An earlier thread has additional background on many facets of the ongoing Darfur tragedy and our government's reponse to it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3692135Thread title: “Genocide update: "NATO on alert to provide help in Darfur" (Bush silent)”
And now the LA Times article. Despite omitting Darfur, it is still worth reading:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-sachs12jun12,0,3370311.story?coll=la-sunday-commentaryJune 12, 2005 latimes.com : Sunday Opinion : Editorials Single page Print E-mail story
URGENT CARE
Africa's Suffering Is Bush's Shame
Millions are dying because of American policy.By Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jeffrey D. Sachs is a Columbia University economist and special advisor to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.President Bush last week brazenly brushed aside British Prime Minister Tony Blair's call for a doubling of aid to Africa. Blair and other European leaders have taken on the task of fighting extreme poverty — and Bush watches from the sidelines. To justify its dereliction, the Bush administration perpetuates a mythology that contributes to the premature deaths of millions of people each year.
The U.S. is a generous provider of aid to Africa, the mythology says, but Africa is corrupt and mismanaged and thus cannot absorb more aid. In addition, there is no room in the budget to do any more than what we are currently doing. This multipart fantasy is widely shared in the U.S. and recalls Napoleon's dictum that "history is a fable often told."
The facts are otherwise. Total annual U.S. aid for all of Africa is about $3 billion, equivalent to about two days of Pentagon spending. About $1 billion pays for emergency food aid, of which half is for transport. About $1.5 billion is for "technical cooperation," essentially salaries of U.S. consultants. Only about $500 million a year — less than $1 per African — finances clinics, schools, food production, roads, power, Internet connectivity, safe drinking water, sanitation, family planning and lifesaving health interventions to fight malaria, AIDS and other diseases.
The myth that more aid would be squandered is pernicious. Once in a while, the industrialized countries try to accomplish something real in Africa. Notable examples are smallpox eradication begun in the 1960s, control of river blindness in the 1970s, increased child immunization in the 1980s, Jimmy Carter's initiatives to fight Guinea worm, trachoma and leprosy in the 1990s and Rotary International's bold efforts to eliminate polio this decade.
(snip - more at link)
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