Influence the New Bush Politics of Aid

Byline: Roya Wolverson Tracy McNicoll Vibhuti Patel Kurt Soller Karen Springen Roya Wolverson Karen Springen

Since 9/11, Democrats and Republicans have increasingly viewed foreign aid as a "soft power" tool that can improve America's image. That's why Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's vaunted "transformational diplomacy" initiative was supposed to be something everyone could get behind. But a crucial component, to link foreign assistance more closely to U.S. interests, is "decimating" one of the core missions of foreign aid -- to alleviate poverty -- according to Democrats and aid organizations.

The Bush administration's proposed 2008 budget guts the coffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development (which is devoted to areas like health care, education and child welfare) by 31 percent and its operations by 15 percent; meanwhile, it kicks 27 percent more money into the State Department's economic-support fund. That means America will use …

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Publication information: Article title: Influence the New Bush Politics of Aid. Contributors: Not available. Magazine title: Newsweek International. Volume: 150. Issue: 12 Publication date: September 17, 2007. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group.

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