Sunday, February 17, 2008

Big in Dar es Salaam

Dimly aware of how negatively his legacy will be viewed, George Bush and his supporters are emphasizing his achievements in Africa. Sometimes this requires attributing to him initiatives that were undertaken by others. Here's Powerline's Deacon --

The Bush Administration also expanded trade with Africa by opening the U.S. market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Under this Act, many African goods receive zero-tariff access to the U.S. market.

His source is a Heritage Foundation issues brief --

Seizing on another powerful anti-poverty tool, the Bush Administration has expanded trade with Africa by opening the U.S. market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Now for a fact --

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law on May 18, 2000 as Title 1 of The Trade and Development Act of 2000.

When Bill Clinton was President. The miracle is that Bush didn't take his usual "anything but Clinton" approach (as with e.g. Israel-Palestine, al-Qaeda) and did in fact expand AGOA through subsequent legislation.

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