Let's dedicate 9/11 to making the world more equal, humane
By Bill Clapp
Guest columnist
The Seattle Times
Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific
All the anger, anxiety, sadness and bewilderment over what happened to us one year ago are welling up again today, as they likely will every Sept. 11 for the rest of our lives.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, we realized that despite our strength as a nation, we are still not secure. Our policies have not led to global stability. We feel misunderstood and betrayed by others in the world.
But we also realize others feel the same about us. However generously we have given our money, protection and products, not all have benefited equally. In fact the gap between the world's rich and poor continues to grow at appalling rates.
The lesson we should draw from the events of the past year is that it is not enough to be the world's protector.
As the most prosperous nation in history, we should use our leadership to spread the core values of equality, freedom and individual opportunity to all people. Not an equality where one American life equals one hundred Asian lives, but where we honor the value and potential of every person on Earth.
A more equal world will be a more stable world. And we intuitively know that when people have a stake in the future and a real opportunity to improve their own well-being and that of their children, they will work for stability and value peace, as we do.
In March, President Bush declared at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico:
"Poverty doesn't cause terrorism. Being poor doesn't make you a murderer. Yet persistent poverty and oppression can lead to hopelessness and despair. And when governments fail to meet the most basic needs of their people, these failed states can become havens for terror ... The needs of the developing world demand a new approach."
The president's commitment of an additional $5 billion a year in foreign assistance, starting in 2006, marks the largest increase in foreign aid since 1979.
At first blush this seems like a generous promise, but when you consider that we, the global economic powerhouse, actually give less than one-tenth of 1 percent of our gross national product (GNP) in foreign assistance, even the president's recent commitment appears anemic.
It grows even paler when compared to the rest of the world's most developed countries, who contribute an average four-tenths of a percent of their GNP.
The world's leaders (except Bush) met recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. They worked on agreements to narrow the gap between rich and poor, and preserve the Earth's resources for generations to come. Not an easy trick.
In his opening remarks, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said, "A global human society based on poverty for many and prosperity for a few, characterized by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable."
Unsustainable is an understatement. I would add unacceptable, explosive, highly dangerous from a national security perspective, extremely risky from an economic standpoint, and simply inhumane.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has proposed renaming foreign aid "national security support."
Thus, we should cease thinking about international development assistance as charity or aid, and start thinking of it as an inherent part of our strategy for national security and economic development. It should be a cornerstone of our foreign and defense policies. This shift may help us identify the resources necessary to seriously impact poverty.
Let's do the math. The United States' estimated military spending for 2002 is $366 billion. Global military spending in 2000 was $785 billion. The United Nations Development Program estimates the annual cost to bring education, health care, basic nutrition and sanitation to the undeveloped world is $40 billion.
Imagine the difference the U.S. alone would make if we reprioritized our spending choices and committed a mere 10 percent of our military budget to meaningful, directed development assistance, or "national security support." Imagine a world where someday we spend more on building the world than defending it.
Let's declare a prolonged, committed assault on global poverty, just as we did for the Cold War.
Let's employ our best minds, latest research and technologies, and most innovative approaches to address the most critical needs facing the globe's population. Let's get our talented business sector actively involved in problem solving. Let's also enlist the support of our allies in this effort. Let's call it — Operation Enduring Freedom and Opportunity, for all.
And finally, let's make Sept. 11 the launch date to replace the poverty and despair faced by billions of people around the world, with hope and action in the very best American tradition.
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Bill Clapp is chairman and CEO of Global Partnerships, a Seattle-based nonprofit agency that is working to eliminate world poverty.
Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company
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