The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Despite economic troubles at home, U.S. investment and engagement abroad is essential to national security and prosperity, panelists at a Regent University forum argued on Wednesday.
One key challenge: convincing Americans struggling financially and the politicians who represent them. "The best way to build support for investing abroad is to have prosperity at home, and we don't have prosperity at home," saidpanelist Barry DuVal, president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
The forum was put on by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a network of 400 business, nongovernmental organizations and foreign-policy experts. The coalition supports government funding for foreign assistance, which this year was $52.9 billion, or 1.4 percent of the total federal budget, according to the group. That includes nonmilitary operations such as diplomacy, development assistance and counterterrorism programs.
Panelist Pete Osman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general, said it's important that the United States doesn't fall into an "isolationist approach." He said investing in foreign diplomacy pays off, citing the war in landlocked Afghanistan as an example. U.S. action was possible, he said, because of diplomatic efforts in bordering countries that secured free-flight zones for U.S. warplanes.
Tom Davis, a former congressman from Northern Virginia, said the United States can make the world safer by helping other countries build their economies.
"The countries we're having trouble with today don't have the economic development," he said.
The Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, vice president of advocacy at World Vision USA, a humanitarian group, said U.S. aid abroad has been successful. He cited reduced rates of child deaths in developing countries.
DuVal warned that foreign aid is always at risk for reduction because of domestic politics.
"The political tendency is to see money spent aboard as a place to cut," he said.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
Shocking news: dog bites man
And business leaders push for govt assistance/expansion in potential overseas markets beneficial to said business leaders.
The Teahadists have been screaming for ages now how the gubmint is a oppressive deterrent to bidness. And that the nefarious govt must stop spending! Bring on austerity! And now this leftist group of hippie radical business leaders now says that govt assistance/expansion is good for bidness? Heads explode in 3...2...1
I wonder
How many Retired people in this group receive Social Security and wonder if that will come?One billion a week to Foreign countries and we supposedly cant pay our bills as a country?We give Foreign aid to countries that turn around and loan it back to us?Cut it to 1 billion a year and take the other 51 billion and pay down some debt.We can revisit this again when we are solvent.
ALL DUE RESPECT
but the days of "throwing" American monies at foreign governments are OVER boys.
First of all Tribal Loyalty trumps "our " taxpayer's monies and the all the "do gooders" overseas.
Second, most if NOT all of these governments are corrupt to the maximum and the monies never reach the people it was intended for.
Third, the current economy in the U.S. is a disaster and all of you have major pensions. So I respectfully suggest that you're out of touch with reality here.