I Thought We Were Trying to Kick Dictators OUT

Not invite them in for coffee & donuts.

Remember Bush’s 2004 presidential proclamation that bars corrupt foreign officials from entering the US? Well neither does he. Did you have a chance to see that photograph of Condi standing next to Obiang Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea’s utterly corrupt dictator? Why do I call him corrupt? Well, maybe it’s that the E.Quinea treasury is his play money. In 2004, the same year as that proclamation, we learned that he & his wife had $13 million stashed in a DC bank. Yup, not even a Swiss one. Obiang likes to keep his money in the US, near his good friends in the Bush administration. Oh yeah, and as for getting into power, forget that election nonsense, Obiang killed his uncle in a coup in 1979. Much more efficient and easier than messy voting.


So why was Condi standing next to him with that smile?

What’s $70 a barrel and rising fast.

Yup. Oil. Equatorial Guinea is the 3rd largest oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa. And Bush/Cheney’s favorite charity, big oil, has about $5 billion invested in the country & Obiang.

And you'll enjoy some of his remarks -
PRESIDENT OBIANG: (Via interpreter) I thank you so much. We have extremely good relations with the United States. Our country has had good relations with the United States for a very long time and my visit here is simply in order to consolidate and also to establish further ties of cooperation with your country. Yesterday, in fact, we signed a very important agreement with USAID, an agreement for the development of Equatorial Guinea which will be helped with financing from the United States for social programs in our country so that our people may enjoy greater prosperity and are able to combat poverty. Therefore, we are extremely pleased and hopeful that this relationship will continue to grow in friendship and cooperation, and I thank you very much.

Anybody want to take bets on how much of that USAID money goes into Obiang's pocket and how much actually reaches the people it's meant for?