POLITICS-U.S.: 2004 Foreign Aid Budget Spotlights ‘War on Terror’

By Emad Mekay Reprint | | Print |

Emad Mekay

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 2003 (IPS) - U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled Monday a proposed increase in foreign aid in the 2004 budget, with most of the hike going to countries that have joined Washington in its self-styled ”war on terror”.

"The budget for 2004 meets the challenges posed by three national priorities: winning the war against terrorism, securing the homeland, and generating long-term economic growth," Bush said in a statement on the White House website.

State department officials told reporters that the increase in the foreign affairs budget, part of the State Department allocations, would target security assistance to help key countries that have signed on to the anti-terrorism campaign, launched after the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

According to the State Department, 4.7 billion dollars have been set aside for counter-terrorism, compared to two billion dollars for what the department said would be new programmes for the war against poverty.

"There is no doubt that this budget funds the president’s commitment to winning the war on terror," said Christopher B. Burnham, assistant secretary for resource management. "It’s reflected throughout the numbers and reflected throughout the foreign assistance."

The amount would include military assistance to what the officials called "frontline states", a group of 25 countries that includes the Philippines, Afghanistan and Yemen, nations that have joined the war on terror.

The aid would be in the form of defence services, equipment, and training.

Of the two billion dollars assigned for the fight against poverty, 1.3 billion dollars will go to the Millennium Challenge Account, an assistance programme proposed by Bush last year to tie increased development aid to governments’ efforts to improve education, democracy and other governance indicators.

The new programme reflects the administration’s commitment to help create democratic, economically secure countries, Burnham said.

Despite accusations from anti-poverty activists that the Account would be inadequate to meet the huge needs of poor nations, officials said the 1.3 billion dollars was adequate to fully fund the first of a five-year programme.

"1.3 billon dollars is already a considerable amount, understanding that it takes some lee time before you can develop the kind of pipeline to execute the project the administration envisions for the Millennium Challenge Account," said Joseph W. Bowab, deputy assistant secretary for foreign assistance programs and budget.

States receiving Account funds will be answerable for the money and will need to meet certain criteria established by a new authority that will monitor the account.

All countries with average per capita incomes below 1,435 dollars will be eligible.

Officials say the new funding mechanism will reward nations that root out corruption, respect human rights, adhere to the rule of law and invest in better health care, better schools, increased immunization and that open their markets.

Sixteen countries are on the initial list to be evaluated after Congress approves the programme in coming months, said Patrick Cronin, assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Of the two billion dollars in the budget request for anti-poverty efforts, 450 million dollars would go to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, focussing on Africa and the Caribbean.

On other fronts, more than 730 millions dollars are budgeted for support anti-narcotics efforts in the Andean region. Colombia will get 463 million dollars. "That’s another war we intend to win," Burnham said.

Such increases fall under the umbrella of 28.5 billion dollars allocated to foreign affairs agencies, an 11.2 percent increase from 2003.

But those numbers contrast starkly with the whopping allocations Bush requested for the U.S. military – 380 billion dollars, a 15-billion-dollar hike from 2003.

The budget also calls for 41 billion dollars for homeland security, a jump of 2.5 billion dollars or 7.6 percent, which would more than double funding over the past two years.

Total U.S. government spending in 2004 will be 2.2 trillion dollars, a 4.2 percent increase over 2003 levels.