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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KonKilo who wrote (72976)	2/11/2003 12:06:36 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Ever see The Mouse That Roared? But of course... Which is why I tend to discount the "arab street" influence. Most people care more about their pocketbook than Jihad... So the best defense the US can engage in is a "Marshall Plan" for the Mid-East... Hawk

To: KonKilo who wrote (72976)	2/11/2003 1:35:50 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

An Unnecessary War In the full-court press for war with Iraq, the Bush administration deems Saddam Hussein reckless, ruthless, and not fully rational. Such a man, when mixed with nuclear weapons, is too unpredictable to be prevented from threatening the United States, the hawks say. But scrutiny of his past dealings with the world shows that Saddam, though cruel and calculating, is eminently deterrable. By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt foreignpolicy.com

To: KonKilo who wrote (72976)	2/11/2003 2:39:27 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

How do U.S. aid levels compare with those of other countries? The U.S. foreign-aid budget as a percentage of gross national product (GNP) ranks last among the world’s wealthiest countries (at about 0.1 percent). In raw dollars, however, the United States is now the world’s top donor of economic aid, although for more than a decade it was second to Japan, which is far smaller and has been beset by economic woes. In 2001, the United States gave $10.9 billion, Japan $9.7 billion, Germany $4.9 billion, the United Kingdom $4.7 billion, and France $4.3 billion. As a percentage of GNP, however, the top donors were Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Sweden. The tiny Netherlands (pop. 5.3 million) gave $3.2 billion in 2001—almost a third of what America contributed. Do Americans understand how much of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid? No. A 2001 poll sponsored by the University of Maryland showed that most Americans think the United States spends about 24 percent of its annual budget on foreign aid—more than 24 times the actual figure. Do Americans support increasing foreign aid? Yes. A University of Maryland poll, which was conducted in July 2002, indicated that 81 percent of Americans support increasing foreign-aid spending to fight terrorism. According to the poll’s findings, the typical American would like to spend $1 on foreign aid for every $3 spent on defense; the real ratio in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2003 is $1 on aid for every $19 spent on defense. terrorismanswers.com