President Bill Clinton is hosting his
Global Initiative this week and he's got a big get. Frankly, the details,
though vague and somewhat misleading, are insulting if true. Laura Bush as his
opening speaker on Wednesday is fine, but if her speech contains anything about
AIDS
it's an outrage. Thomas Friedman will be moderating the
event.
The first lady's speech next Wednesday will cover topics such as literacy
and education, AIDS and women's rights that she has highlighted in her travels.
They include 11 solo trips to 27 countries in the nearly six years of her
husband's presidency.
They're kidding, right? Mrs.
Bush talking about AIDS? This is what Mrs. Bush said about fighting
AIDS back in January 2006.
“'I'm always a little bit irritated when I hear the criticism of abstinence,
because abstinence is absolutely 100 percent effective in eradicating a sexually
transmitted disease,'” Mrs. Laura Bush said.“'In a country or a part of the world where one in three people have
a sexually transmitted deadly disease, you have to talk about abstinence,
you really have to,' she said. 'In many countries where girls feel
obligated to comply with the wishes of men, girls need to know that abstinence
is a choice.'” …
The emphasis above is mine. Read the sentence again. It's mind boggling that
our First Lady actually uttered these words. Beverly
LaHaye of the Concerned Women for America said it was “refreshing”.
Ah yes, it's so refreshing to have a young African girl believe she has a choice
when an African male tries to push her to have sex. Seriously, in what
world are these women living? By the way, Mrs. LaHaye is the wife of Tim LaHaye,
the creator of the Left Behind series.
The last time I looked, condoms help stop the spread of AIDS, and the Bush
administration has put them as a last resort in the global fight against this
disease. Laura Bush is helping lead the way in keeping women in chains due to
her husband's ABC program, abstinence, be faithful, use a condom nonsense.
Selling abstinence in Africa and in poorer countries is impossible. It doesn't
do a woman any good if she's abstinent and her partner is not. Get it, George?
Mr. Clinton should stick with Bill Gates, who slammed Bush's policy in August.
The “ABC” programme – abstinence, be faithful and use a condom
– had saved many lives, Mr Gates told the conference of more than 20,000 delegates.
But, departing from his government's line, he added that for many at the highest
risk for infection, ABC had its limits.“Abstinence is often not an option for poor women and girls, who have
no choice but to marry at an early age. Being faithful will not protect a
woman whose partner is not faithful. And using condoms is not a decision that
a woman can make by herself; it depends on a man.“We need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women. This
is true whether the woman is a faithful married mother of small children or
a sex worker trying to scrape out a living in a slum. No matter where she
lives or what she does, a woman should never need her partner's permission
to save her own life.”
TomPaine.com
puts it even more harshly, calling Bush's policy “stupidity”.
The official global HIV prevention policy of the U.S. government is ABC—Abstinence,
Be Faithful, and Use a Condom—which is comprehensive. But the truth
is it’s not A, B, and C. It’s A, B, or, what is only encouraged
for those at high risk, like commercial sex workers and injection drug users,
C. And, in reality, the U.S prevention policy for youth is abstinence-only:
stay abstinent, or, if you’re having sex, become a “secondary
virgin.” Secondary virginity may sound nice, in theory, but it has little
relevance and even less impact in the real world.
Bill Clinton inviting Laura Bush to talk about education and literacy is on
target.
Having the First Lady discuss anything having to do with AIDS is an insult.
Yes, Mrs.
Bush is also going to announce a commitment to “deliver federal
aid for cleaner water in sub-Saharan Africa, a commitment supplemented by a
private American foundation.” But the AIDs element is troubling, if
true. But again, the actual agenda of her speech is not clear. Some reports
show AIDS to be part of her agenda, while other reports focus on the clean water
angle, which is critically important.
Mr. Clinton may be trying to emphasize the lack of politics involved in his
Global Initiative, but if Laura Bush does indeed speak about AIDS it will be
a travesty for the truth.
George W. Bush's record on fighting AIDS is horrific. It takes more than money
to make a good AIDS policy. It takes ideas that work. Bill Clinton offering
Bush a fig life through the First Lady is an unconscionable breach of faith, even if it's meant to help Hillary. Let's just hope Mrs. Bush sticks to literacy. Because the Bushes don't know anything
about preventing AIDS and their faith-based
AIDS policy is the proof.
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