G-8 Faces U.S. Pressure to Downsize Goals

I am concerned by this. According to this article (which you can read totally when you click the title), the U.S. has been lobbying for the world to reduce their assistance to Africa and to the world AIDS epidemic! Why would the U.S. do such a thing? What does Bush know that we don't know?

Sure, he is the President of the United States, but has he been all that effective as a leader? Sometimes I do wonder. This is a great nation, but not all leaders can be good ones for every era.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) -- World leaders faced pressure from the United States to scale back goals for relieving African poverty and combating global AIDS, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday he planned to keep campaigning for his ambitious objectives with other world leaders.

The article goes on to say -

When asked about reports that Britain is preparing to scale back its demands on support for Africa and climate change in the face of U.S. opposition, Blair said he is "prepared to hold out for what is right."

This is good form and I hope Blair can do something with helping the world, especially the climate change and greenhouse issues. After all, Bush has done so much against the environment, someone needs to actually step up and tell him he has done something wrong. Or, at least this is my way of seeing it.

The differences were even starker on global warming. Blair wanted a plan to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But U.S. officials lobbied to prevent the inclusion in the G-8 communique of any specific reduction targets as called for in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The United States is the only G-8 country that has refused to ratify the Kyoto treaty, with Bush saying that doing so would have "wrecked" the U.S. economy.

Something is amiss here. How can keeping the planet livable wreck anything? Have we become such a totally selfish nation?

Please, I encourage everyone to read the article. Tell me what you think. Even if you don't tell me what you think, do think about what the article is saying. It makes my hair stand on end.