Spanning three days in lush Scotland, the conference between the leaders of the Group of Eight, or G8, nations will attempt to tackle some of the world's biggest problems, such as poverty in Africa, global warming, peace in the Middle East and nuclear proliferation. The G8 comprises the leading industrialized nations of the world: the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.
The G8 leaders certainly have their hands full. To fix these problems, they'll need to do more cramming than a college student on the eve of finals week who has skipped class all semester. And that's being generous.
The main question about the conference is whether or not President Bush will cooperate with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to increase aid and debt relief to impoverished African countries and to curb emissions of greenhouse gasses.
Bush has pledged to double current U.S. aid from $4.3 billion to $8.6 billion by 2010, but he opposes Blair's 2015 target, which would mean an additional $6 billion. Bush emphasized that African nations must commit to responsible governance in order to get increased support.
This makes sense, considering the prevalence of dictatorships and poor leadership in Africa. For instance, Swaziland's absolute monarch, King Mswati, owns a $500,000 Maybach luxury car and lives a lavish lifestyle as 70 percent of his country lives on less than $1 per day, and about 40 percent of adults are HIV positive.
Political problems in Africa, however, are no reason to skimp on aid - what is an extra $6 billion to one of the world's richest countries, anyway? Instead of withholding this money, it should be doled out under the condition that certain concessions be made by political despots in Africa to improve human rights and political situations. Food and medical supplies are another option. Helping Africans must take precedence over spreading America's brand of democracy.
The problem is that Bush stands to receive little political gain by helping people in Africa because U.S. citizens might not be aware of its problems to a great extent.
The same goes for greenhouse-gas emissions: If people can't see it, then it's harder to be aware of it.
Bush has acknowledged that greenhouse gasses are a problem but has been firmly opposed to setting targets to reduce emissions. In contrast, Blair initially wanted to curb emissions, but thanks to U.S. lobbying to exclude these targets from the G8 communiqué, these plans have been thwarted. Bush has sidestepped by stating that his plan is to control greenhouse gasses "as best as possible."
The problems the G8 has set out to fix can benefit from an educated, aware public, and a strong leadership can be influential in disseminating information. These problems deserve an honest appraisal and innovative solutions. They deserve our real best, not our polite brush-the-question-off best.
