Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Obama, in Tanzania for the last leg of his weeklong Africa
trip, stood to the left of his predecessor, George W. Bush, under a tree
canopy on the grounds of the American Embassy here. Mr. Bush is in
Tanzania with his wife, who is holding a summit for African first
ladies.
In 1998, a bomb placed by Al Qaeda ripped through the old United States
Embassy, about a mile-and-a-half away, killing 10 Tanzanians and
injuring 85 others. The new embassy opened in 2003. On a grassy area in
front of the new building, a bronze plaque bears an inscription from
President Bill Clinton.
“We must honor the memory of those we mourn by pressing the cause of
freedom and justice for which they lived,” Mr. Clinton wrote. “It is the
burden of our history and the bright hope of the world’s future.”
The brief, mostly silent ceremony on Tuesday offered Mr. Bush and Mr.
Obama a chance to pay their respects. After walking out and taking a
short moment of silence, the pair greeted a handful of family members of
those who were killed and embassy employees who survived the blast.
Mr. Obama was originally scheduled to preside at the wreath-laying
alone. But when Mr. Bush’s trip overlapped, the White House amended the
schedule. Mr. Bush arrived inside the embassy compound a few minutes
after Mr. Obama. Aides said the two men talked briefly as they waited to
begin the ceremony.
The encounter underscored a recurring theme for Mr. Obama throughout his
African trip: How to live up to the accomplishments of Mr. Bush, who is
well regarded in Africa for devoting billions of dollars to a program
to fight AIDS on the continent.
Mr. Obama has repeatedly praised Mr. Bush this week, calling the AIDS
program a huge success. But the current president has also sought to
demonstrate his own commitment to improving the lives of Africans. He
announced plans to boost trade and investment, improve the delivery of
electricity and expand Mr. Bush’s AIDS programs to combat other
diseases.
After the wreath laying ceremony, Mr. Obama stopped briefly at a power
plant here to emphasize his plans to help provide reliable electricity
to millions of Africans who are without it. The United States has
pledged $7 billion toward helping to convince private companies to build
power plants in Africa.
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