February 19, 2012

Foreign Aid and American Priorities

By Shoshana Bryen
It is a struggle to decide who, if anyone, has a claim to US foreign aid dollars.  It is, after all, money earned by American taxpayers and sent to people who didn't earn it, at least not in the traditional sense.  Should it be used to encourage countries to accept American requirements -- or to reward countries that have done so?  Should it be only for people who like Americans?  That would be a small group.  James Lindsay, senior vice president of he Council on Foreign Relations, reminds us, "Gratitude isn't the primary objective of U.S. foreign aid... Washington doles out aid primarily based on calculations about how to advance U.S. strategic interests." If the minimal condition is that American money should advance American interests, it is worth considering money spent on the Palestinian Authority and on Egypt, as well as in support of what remains of the "Arab Spring." Palestinians The US interest is in a negotiated "two-state solution" resulting in a...(Read Full Article)