25 March 2003
Iraq War Will Not Distract U.S. From Africa, Says U.S. Official
("No reduction in aid," Kansteiner tells journalists via multi-country
telephone interview) (810)
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- On the day President Bush asked Congress for $75,000
million to prosecute the war in Iraq, Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs Walter Kansteiner told Africans their political and
development needs would not be forgotten by the Administration.
Kansteiner March 25 spoke from his office to journalists in Senegal,
Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda
via a telephone press conference arranged by the State Department's
Office of Public Diplomacy. He said, "The U.S. commitment to Africa is
firm and in place, and will stay focused on sub-Saharan Africa because
it is a very important part of our national foreign policy."
With the war in Iraq taking up U.S. resources, an Ethiopian journalist
wondered, "Should we expect any adjustment or reduction in foreign aid
to African countries in general? Kansteiner responded: "No. There will
be no reduction whatsoever in our assistance and in our involvement in
Africa. As a matter of fact, I foresee an increase in bilateral and
multilateral assistance.
"As you might remember, we have a new HIV/AIDS program of $15,000
million that we are launching now. It is an excellent program, and we
are working now on how those funds are going to be funneled into
various programs in Africa, both on the treatment side as well as the
education side," he said.
Kansteiner added, "We have the Millennium Challenge Account, which is
finally coming together. We are very excited about it. Africa will be
a major beneficiary [of that program]."
Also citing the war in Iraq, a Nigerian journalist asked whether the
U.S. Government's "canceling or suspending military support or
cooperation with Nigeria was a reaction to Nigeria's explicit
opposition to the war?" Kansteiner responded, "That was an incorrect
report coming out of the newspapers. The U.S.-Nigerian relationship is
on very good footing. In fact, the only monetary hesitation
[interruption] came from the U.S. Congress about 10 months ago
relating to very small and specific military assistance" due to the
investigation into the Benue massacre.
Actually, he said, "Our assistance and our support to Nigeria is
probably at an all time high. And we're doing quite a bit in terms of
democratic party-building and independent electoral monitoring as they
come up to their election in just a few weeks."
Asked "What benefits, direct or indirect, will African gain from the
removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq?" Kansteiner answered,
"The most direct benefit is that the weapons of mass destruction that
Iraq possesses...will no longer be in the hands of someone who is
willing to use them against his neighbors and against the region --
that is the most direct benefit and I think the international
community will all benefit."
Queried about his reaction to "an Arab Summit in Cairo that asked for
a ceasefire" in Iraq, Kansteiner said, "Well, a ceasefire is
inappropriate because the objectives have not been reached yet. And
that objective is the disarming of the weapons of mass destruction
from Iraq."
Asked what if the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq does not find any weapons
of mass destruction, the U.S official responded: "The war has just
been underway for a few days. We have every indication that we will
find the weapons of mass destruction and I think the evidence will be
presented to the world."
A South African journalist asked Kansteiner: "What military
cooperation or other forms of cooperation are you seeking from South
Africa and perhaps from other countries in the region?" The U.S.
official said the U.S.-led effort to disarm Iraq was "a coalition of
the willing. More than 40 countries around the globe have opted to
join us in various ways from offering overflight rights to
contributing troops...then there are others who are quietly assisting
in one way or another."
In fact, he said, "There are quite a few countries in Africa" doing
just that, "from allowing our ships to refuel in ports to assisting
the various coalition forces...in various supply efforts."
Kansteiner reminded his audience that the war in Iraq was not a policy
replacement for America's involvement in helping sub-Saharan Africa
develop and democratize. "The very essence" of the struggle in Iraq,
he explained, "is to make the whole world safe from Saddam's threat of
the use of weapons of mass destruction.
"The reason it is so imperative that the international community take
these weapons out of the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime is because
not only are they capable of using them but that they have used them
in the past. Every indication is they were preparing to use them
again."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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