described Africa as an 'important" but not "crucial front" in the global war against terrorism.Responding to a question by THISDAY on whether the December 2003 travel warning update issued on Nigeria was due to the domestic situation or a global terrorist threat, Snyder replied, "It's a little bit of both", adding that Nigeria is " not currently the kind of place that somebody that's unsophisticated should go".
He had earlier explained that US Department of State was compelled to warn American citizens about traveling to Nigeria because of the general terrorist threats throughout the region, the "problems up in the western states" as well as the "unfortunate problem that has nothing to do with terrorism on one of the airlines". He, however, added that he was hopeful that the problems would be resolved.
On Africa's role in the global war on terrorism, Synder described Africa as important "but it's not a crucial front." He said: "The old camel caravan route coming down from Libya all the way through Mauritania is an area of interest and an area of trouble which extremists can use, and we're paying attention to in this global war."
Briefing on Sub-Saharan Africa, Snyder acknowledged that President Bush had fallen short in the implementation of his pledge of $15 billion over five years to fight HIV/Aids in Africa and the Caribbean.
"$15 billion divided by five should be $3 billion a year" he said adding that the $2.4 billion Congress approved for fiscal year 2004 "didn't quite get there." He, however said, that the government had "engaged that in a serious way."
He denied that the delay by the Bush administration in pushing for an extension of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) is to Africa bank for its stance at Cancun last September, when discussions broke down over disagreements between the US and developing nations at the world trade meetings.
"What happened at Cancun is unfortunate in many ways," he said, "but AGOA legislation is not affected by that, trust me." Trade bills are always tough to negotiate, especially in an election year, so the State Department traditionally waits "until the 11th hour to spot what we like best," he said.
Snyder also said the Bush administration wants South African President Thabo Mbeki to put more pressure on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe stressing that time was important in the peaceful resolution of what he described as "a tragedy unfolding". "We've seen South Africa step up to the plate in Burundi," he said, where a peace agreement is close to resolution "in large part due to South Africa's energetic diplomacy." The U.S. government would like to see similar movement on the Zimbabwe issue, he said. "We're still hoping that President Mbeki will step up. With a tragedy unfolding like this, time is of the essence and we're hoping that he takes a re-energized look."
