Bush plans overhaul of US foreign aid system

President George W. Bush’s administration is drawing up plans to carry out the biggest overhaul of the US foreign aid apparatus in more than 40 years in an attempt to assert more political control over international assistance, according to officials and aid experts.

The proposed reorganisation could lead to a takeover by the State Department of the independent US Agency for International Development. USAID was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, managing aid programmes, disaster relief and post-war reconstruction totalling billions of dollars each year.

Critics in the aid community fear the reorganisation will lead to a politicisation of foreign assistance, where aid will become subordinated to the Bush administration’s drive to promote democracy.

Supporters of the proposed reforms argue that USAID must be brought more in line with policy goals focused on post-conflict reconstruction and democratisation rather than pure development aid where they allege funds are squandered and the agency is driven more by efforts aimed at self-perpetuation.

Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, and Stephen Krasner, head of policy planning, are leading the reforms. Officials said proposals could be put to Congress next month. A new position of deputy secretary of state for aid and development is being considered.

Previous administrations have considered similar ideas but rejected them as impractical or unlikely to pass Congress, and officials concede this could happen this time round. A precedent of sorts exists in the controversial 1999 merger into the state department of the independent US Information Agency, a move that has since been blamed in part for failures in US public diplomacy.

A spokesman for USAID said no final decision had been taken. He noted that rumours of the agency’s demise surface regularly. Andrew Natsios, head of USAID for nearly five years, announced his resignation on December 2. No replacement has been announced. The USAID spokesman said his departure was not connected to a possible reorganisation.

Mr Natsios was credited with effective responses to natural disasters, such as the Asian tsunami. But experts say USAID and the Pentagon share blame for the failure of state building in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Carol Lancaster, a Georgetown University professor and co-author of “Organising US Foreign Aid” says merging USAID into the state department would be a mistake. “I’m concerned that a real merger has the very great danger of eventually undercutting the development mission because of tensions, pressures and the nature of foreign policy,” she commented. “The pressure to use money for short-term crisis management, or the war on terror, could be overwhelming.”

A State Department official, who asked not to be named, said the goal of the reforms was to make US aid better linked to the administration’s democracy and development agenda.

“There is a feeling that we need to be more strategic,” he said. The administration wanted more flexibility in how money was spent, he said, noting that a considerable portion of the US aid budget was heavily “earmarked” by Congress tying aid to particular countries and projects. The Bush administration began the reform process by setting up the Millennium Challenge Corporation which rewards countries with records of good governance. Welcomed as a good concept, it has also been criticised for moving too slowly.

Foreign Aid to Stop If Mexico Refuses Extradition of Cop-Killers

by Jim Kouri - The US House of Representees passed a $21 billion foreign-aid bill that includes a provision to cut off aid to any nation that harbors a cop-killer and denies requests for extradition of suspects involved in the of killing a US law enforcement officer. Many observers recognize this as a warning to the Mexican government.
The legislation, which allocates almost $3 billion for medical assistance for AIDS victims in Africa and $61 million for economic and security programs, is expected to gain passage in the Senate.

The extradition section is a last ditch effort to resolve a unilateral treaty dispute with Mexico, which now refuses to extradite any suspect who would face the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole. Originally only suspects facing capital punishment were not extradited, but last year the Mexican supreme court unilaterally extended the prohibition to suspects facing life sentences. Mexico receives enormous foreign-aid packages from the United States and stands to lose a lot if they continue to thumb their noses at American police chiefs and officers.

Up to 4,000 fugitives have escaped back into Mexico after killing Americans. An estimated 1,000 of the homicide arrest warrants for Mexicans were from California, including 400 from Los Angeles County, which also has three outstanding warrants for people suspected of killing a police officers.

"The US should not be forced to plea bargain with other countries, nor should full justice be denied family members of assassinated cops," said Rep. Bob Beauprez, the Colorado Republican who sponsored the legislation.

"This appropriations bill will help us put an end to rewarding foreign-aid nations that provide safe haven to cop killers," he said.

The Senate will most likely pass the bill, which passed the House 358-39, and the President is expected to sign it into law.

Police organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Chiefs of Police, and American Federation of Police as well as the families of slain officers applauded the passage of the House bill. However, so far the Mexican government has made no statements regarding their foreign aid being placed in jeopardy.

Other than criticism by liberal groups and advocates of open borders, the only criticism being leveled at this legislation comes from Americans who believe the bill doesn't go far enough and should include any murderer who has escaped US justice by returning to Mexico. Statistics show that as a group illegal aliens from Mexico perpetrate a disproportionate amount of crime when compared to other groups. Criminal aliens are responsible for hundreds of thousands of crime including murders, rapes, robberies and assaults.

According to Heather McDonald of the Manhattan Institute in New York City, in California alone, 95% of outstanding homicide arrest warrants are for illegal aliens and 65% of all felony arrest warrants are for illegal immigrants.

Yep, it works both ways. And FROM Mexico we have hundreds every year FLEE to save harbour in the USA, changing names and leaving unpaid jail sentences here in Mexico. THAT'S one argument: Throw the BOOK at people who come illegally into the USA, and make it somewhat easier for the crime free crowd who wanted to visit friends and come home who are willing to give a DNA sample and a finger print to know WHO really is coming into the country. The system that exists rewards those who change their names, abandon families and disregard any symbol of honest effort to uphold law.

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