Forein Aid as Substitute to Victory

Submitted by s. shalit (United States), Jul 26, 2009 at 10:52

Thirty years ago, if anyone had suggested a vast increase in our foreign aid to backward Afghanistan, spending billions of American taxpayers' dollars to usher her into modernity by building an educational and legal infrastructure, highways, bridges, etc., he would have been laughed off with a "let their oil rich Arab brothers take care of them".

However, today we find ourselves doing just that because Arabs have attacked this country and "there is no military solution". Foreign aid as substitute for victory? This would turn old von Clausewitz spinning in his grave.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".