Foreign Aid Essay

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Throughout the United States’ history, the importance and presence of foreign aid has fluctuated. Franklin Roosevelt presented the Marshall Plan to rebuild a devastated Europe after World War II, a comprehensive multi-billion-dollar effort which cemented America’s place as a world leader. Later, when the perceived threat from the Soviet Union receded as the Cold War ended in the early 1980s, American diplomatic, military, and foreign assistance budgets were slashed, and the U.S. kept a lower profile on the world stage. However, during the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001 and the war against terrorism, and through the more recent democracy movements and resulting civil wars taking place throughout the world, these budgets were again increased, and …show more content…

Many experts in the diplomatic and international relations fields believe that American self-interest is best served by a democratically secure, financially stable, and militarily peaceful (as well as grateful) world, with the populations in the world free from hunger, persecution, disease, and poverty. Patrick Marshall, who holds a master’s degree in International Studies from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, states “Advocates of a robust aid program…say it is vital in protecting U.S. security interests, spreading democracy, and promoting U.S. exports.” In addition, as one of the wealthiest countries and one of oldest democracies, the United States has an ethical mandate to provide aid to suffering people around the world. Also, foreign assistance agreements frequently stipulate that the funds granted must be used to buy American goods or services, such as the aid packages offered to Israel to fund their military which require them to purchase arms and equipment from American companies, thereby returning much of the aid to U.S. businesses (Bearak). While it is true that the United States funds the largest portion of U.N. spending, it is also true that this funding, which equates to .17% of GNI (Gross National Income), is much smaller than other countries’ contributions as a percentage of GNI. Western Europe’s contributions hover in the .7% range, with Sweden topping the donors at 1.4%

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