Originally published on the CGS blog on October 21, 2011.
Republican presidential candidates proved once again Tuesday night in Las Vegas that they are vastly unqualified to direct our country’s foreign policy. Ron Paul advocated returning to a more isolationist stance during a discussion on defense cuts. Michele Bachmann suggested retaliation against Iran after the discovery of the recent attempt to attack a Saudi diplomat living in the U.S. But at no point of the debate was the lack of foreign policy experience clearer than when the candidates discussed cutting foreign aid.
The comments made by several of the candidates could not have been more illogical or misinformed. Rick Perry said that there should be a serious discussion about cutting foreign aid and even defunding the U.N. Mitt Romney suggested we should cut aid and let the Chinese undertake humanitarian aid for the United States. Ron Paul called foreign aid the “easiest thing to cut” and “taking money from poor people in this country and giving it to rich people in poor countries.” Michele Bachmann went as far as to suggest that we ask countries that have received U.S. foreign aid, such as Iraq and Libya, to repay us.
In no way are these statements based on any facts about how foreign aid is used or its importance, not just for international development, but for U.S. national security as well. First and foremost, foreign aid only makes up one percent of our national budget. Comments like these from prominent politicians perpetuate the idea that we spend a disproportionate amount of money abroad, making the job of advocates for foreign aid and U.N. funding that much harder.
More important though, is the complete ignorance of the presidential candidates on the impact that foreign aid has. According to an editorial by the Washington Post published on Thursday, foreign aid “helps keep alive millions of people…It helps prevent some nations from becoming failed states that would spawn security threats to the United States. It creates goodwill for America that benefits U.S. exports. It’s the right thing to do.”
Perry’s suggestion of defunding the U.N. may be the most uninformed of all the statements made Tuesday night. As explained in a report recently published by Citizen’s for Global Solutions in conjunction with the Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping, the U.N. is an invaluable force-multiplier for the United States. On the issue of peacekeeping alone, the U.N. saves the U.S. billions, if not trillions, of dollars that we would otherwise spend dealing with humanitarian crises that result from conflict throughout the world.
The Republican Party has not historically been associated with a weakness on foreign policy. Rather, the current Republican field has simply failed to take the time to educate themselves about the importance of U.N. funding or foreign aid, two elements crucial to U.S. national security. Voters must demand more from their presidential candidates. Our safety, along with the lives of millions of innocents throughout the world, depends upon it.
