Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

President Bush is currently on a five-nation trip to Africa. He is visiting Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. There is some criticism for avoiding the hotspots (Darfur, Kenya, DRC). According to the official press, the US will increase total assistance to Africa to $8.7 billion by 2010, double the level of assistance in 2004. We’re aiming for a new kind of partnership, they say.

Prior to leaving, Bush previewed a movie trailer for a 15-minute documentary produced in partnership between Warner Bros and PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). The trailer, which will appear in movie theaters later this year, will direct viewers to visit the website to view the full documentary entitled SAVING LIVES, CREATING HOPE. It is, of course, a PR piece to paint a bright spot on the Bush legacy for his (albeit eleventh-hour) efforts in this area.

I find myself wondering if they watched the Tanzanian documentary, INTO THE LIGHT, that Paul Hepker scored. That film was about the AIDs crisis in that country. Probably doesn’t have the same gloss as the Hollywood film told from the administration’s point of view. Probably. I won’t be able to say until I see them both. Why does all of this bring the 1997 film WAG THE DOG to mind (Dustin Hoffman as producer who manufactures cinema events to camouflage the failings of the president)? I don’t if there’s another president who has had a more scandal-plagued administration than George Bush (43) so a feel good film can’t be all bad.

Speaking of can’t be all bad, the other thought I’m having is about the $8.7 billion in aid to Africa (DOUBLE the 2004 level). Current estimates are that the war in Iraq is costing the US over $195 million per day. At that rate, the entire African aid package is spent by the US in Iraq in just 45 days. Forty-five days of war in the Middle East equals the aid to an entire continent of Africa for one year.

Now, granted $8.7 billion isn’t chump change. But, forgive me if I don’t get all happy-clappy, link arms and sing Kumbaya around the campfire.