Libyan
leader MoammarGaddhafi and
President Obama at
the G8 Summit in L'aquila Italy,
July 9.
La Stampa, Italy
'Historic Handshake' for Ghaddafi and 'Obama the African'
"Ghaddafi's arrival at the summit in a cortege of limousines
and garbed in a red-and
gold-fleckedtuniccoincided with Obama's
announcement of a climate-change agreement with emerging economies. … This was
the very first handshake between Ghaddafi and a
president of the United States."
President Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma: Zuma provided some heavy-duty help to Obama with some of the larger emerging economies - but still no deal woth India and China on reducing CO2 emissions.
L'AQUILA: Two handshakes with
Muammar Ghaddafi at the dinner for leaders at l'Aquila, today's meeting with [Pope] Benedict XVI on fighting
AIDS and poverty, putting the final touches on tomorrow's program in Accra [Ghana]
and the agreement on trade and climate change with South African President Jacob
Zuma: all of this describes Barack Obama's multi-pronged
effort to build a new relationship with Africa.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The two handshakes with the
Libyan colonel took place during a dinner hosted by the president of the
Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, at which Obama and Ghaddafi
sat on either side of Silvio Berlusconi. When they first
met, Obama immediately reached over to Ghaddafi, and
then during dinner, the American president stood up and again reached over to Tripoli's
leader. This was the very first handshake between Ghaddafi
and a president of the United States. Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, had
anticipated the event earlier when he said, "He doesn't intend to choose
which leaders he'll shake hands with and which he won't: he'll be very happy to
greet everyone he meets," and that, in Ghaddafi's
case, America's interests lies in wanting, wants to see cooperation with Libya continue
in sectors such as Tripoli's decision a few years ago to give up its nuclear
program," while continuing to express his concerns," with respect to Tripoli's
unpredictable political policies."
On the other hand, Libya now has
normal relations with the United States and Ghaddafi,
who in his capacity as president of the African Union is a natural interlocutor
for Washington, particularly with U.S. special envoy for Darfur, Scott Gration, trying and accelerate the deployment of an
inter-African peacekeeping force to defend civilian populations threatened by raiders
backed by the Sudan government.
Ghaddafi's arrival at the summit in a cortège of limousines and
garbed in a red-and
gold-fleckedtuniccoincided with Obama's announcement
of a climate-change agreement with emerging economies, which owes much to an
understanding with South Africa President Jacob Zuma,
who during a morning meeting offered the White House a dual commitment: to less
resistance from developing countries for both a radical reduction in polluting
gas emissions and help in ending the deadlock at the Doha round of international
trade talks. Chats with Zuma also involved the 2010
Football World Cup - Obama wants to go - and his visit to Ghana, the first of
his presidency to sub-Saharan Africa.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
President Barack Obama addresses Ghana's Parliament in
"Saturday's speech to
the parliament in Accra," anticipated Michelle Gavin, a White House
counselor for African affairs, "will serve to underline the importance of good
governance and democracy, since Ghana is a truly admirable example of a place
where governance is getting stronger, a thriving democracy. They just had an
extraordinarily close election at the end of last year, decided ultimately by
about 40,000 votes."
To give maximum exposure to
the message being sent to the continent where Obama's father was born, the
White House staff has been working without interruption: all embassies in
African countries have mobilized to disseminate it and collect local reactions,
similar to what occurred in Muslim countries on the occasion of Obama's Cairo
speech. In Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, one can text message the
White House on mobile phone numbers for locals to, "suggest what to say to
Obama."
Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddhafi comments on U.S.
democracy and 'Kenyan brother' Barack Obama, at a ceremony marking the
38th anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Libya, June
11, 2008.
The tremendous interest in
the mission to Accra prompted a change in itinerary: before leaving for Washington
late on Saturday evening, a “departure ceremony” will be held at Accra's
airport with thousands of people, folk dancing and West-African tribal music.
Africa will also be a topic of discussion during Obama's meeting with Benedict
XVI. Denis McDonough says, "The Pope and the president have much in common
with regard to Africa, the struggle against AIDS and the desire to mobilize the
international community against the scourge of poverty." It's no
coincidence that White House spokesman Robert Gibbs listed "among the
successes in the summit," the fact that they've been able to get the
planet's richest countries to share a commitment to provide $12 billion in aid
over the next three years.
As the day drew to a close
and with Obama still sitting at the table with leaders over dinner, Michelle
Gavin continued to work on the Africa issue - and kept on doing so for another
48 hours. Her face betrayed fatigue and stress, but there's one thing she kept
on saying: "What makes Obama's approach to Africa different from previous
presidents is the decision to include it in the broader foreign policy agenda, so
we decided to stop over in Accra shortly after the G8," in contrast to Clinton
and George W. Bush, "who went to Africa on isolated trips," thus giving
the impression that it was a continent disconnected from the rest of the planet.
That's another reason that at yesterday's dinner, African leaders scrambled to
shake hands with Barack.
