by Fei Liena

    BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- For the first time U.S. President George W. Bush said recently his country would not seek to build new military bases in Africa, nor will it set up headquarters for the command on African soil, amid overwhelmingly strong opposition from African countries.

    NO NEW MILITARY BASES IN AFRICA: BUSH

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) dances with performers on his way to join an outdoor lunch with Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf at the Executive Residence in Monrovia Feb. 21, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Speaking in Ghana on the fourth leg of a five-nation African tour, Bush said the U.S. military command for Africa (Africom) created last year was intended to help African leaders solve the continent's crises, not boost the U.S. military presence there.

    "We do not contemplate adding new bases," Bush said at a joint news conference with Ghanan President John Kufuor.

    "I know there are rumors in Ghana: 'All Bush is doing is coming to try to convince you to put a big military base here.' That's baloney. Or, as we say in Texas, that's bull," Bush said.

    But he did not rule out the possibility of developing some kind of office somewhere in Africa to coordinate with Africom's current headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, and to monitor missions implemented in Africa. "We haven't made our minds up. This is a new concept," Bush said.

    He also defended the military command which he proposed to set up last year as "aiming to help provide military assistance to African nations, so African nations are more capable of dealing with Africa's conflicts, like peacekeeping training."

U.S. President George Bush (L) and President of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf watch an honor guard march past at Barclay Training Center in Monrovia, Feb. 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    He cited the example of the joint African Union and UN effort in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

    Announcing the establishment of Africom last February, Bush said the command "will enhance our efforts to bring peace and security to the people of Africa and promote our common goals of development, health, education, democracy and economic growth in Africa."  

    AFRICAN CONCERNS

    Yet, despite the rosy picture Bush has drawn for Africa, most African nations cast doubt on Washington's real motive for establishing U.S. military presence on the continent, and some considered the proposal "putting a Trojan horse" at their homes.

    Most Africans feel "nervous and insecure" that the U.S. military presence on their land is, first of all, an attempt to militarize the U.S. foreign policies in Africa under the banner of combating terrorism.

    Enlarged U.S. military troops in Africa, many Africans fear, would jeopardize African nations' own military power and their sovereignty, starting again a near neo-colonization on the continent.