U.s. Foreign Aid During The Middle East

Military aid- aid which comes in the source of armed forces in warlike matters. (reserso dictionary)

aid can be used to protect the United States from threats from other nations. Beyond humanitarian aid, there is a more complex interpretation of what U.S. foreign aid is and what it does both for the recipient country and America. For example, building democratic governments in other countries is one strategy for fighting terrorism. The United States has long had the reputation of using its military forces for good, such as during World War II when American soldiers helped to defeat Hitler’s Nazism. When dealing with a repressive regime which does not want to engage in democracy military force may be necessary. I am convinced that the United States can provide a healthy dose of overwhelming firepower if that is what it

Foreign aid is something that is provided by donating governments to countries in need, mostly third-world countries. Foreign aid is allocated for two extremely broad categories, economic development and military aid. Under these categories there are specific uses for foreign aid like, health, humanitarian assistance, democratic elections and even protection for forests. There is debate about foreign aid being a waste because of corrupt governments, which gives the United States speculation whether it should continue to provide foreign aid and how much. This was a popular topic in the 2012 election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It would be most beneficial to the United States to maintain foreign aid levels while having conditions

Almost a year ago, Egypt broke into civil unrest when protesters flooded Tahrir Square, demanding the end of Hosnia Mubarak’s regime. Although Mubarak stepped down within two weeks, Egypt is worse off today than it was last January. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which played a vital role in the January revolution, has now become a violent and oppressive force. On the twenty-ninth of December 2011, the SCAF raided seventeen Egyptian, German, and US run NGOs in search of proof of illegal foreign funding.1 In a statement (A/HRC/18/NGO/77) submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), and the Center for Egyptian Women’s

For the United States, the Gulf region remains one of the most geo-strategically important locations in the world for diplomatic, intelligence cooperation, and business opportunities such as hydrocarbons and arms. This strategic cooperation has provided the region some stability, particularly with the rise of Iran and the Shi’a crescent and the chaotic outcome of the war in Iraq. The council members have also relied on the United State to fend off some of the domestic challenges to the existing regimes that are both internally and regionally rooted.

Ever had that one friend? The one who tries to help, but no matter how hard he tries, he just aggravates the situation. This friend, Steve, insists he is helping, and those around, too, would support that he is indeed helping. But Steve is actually worsening the circumstances. He is like countries who provide foreign aid to less developed countries. Foreign aid, defined as “the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population,” can be military, economic, or humanitarian (“Foreign”). It is often granted to less developed countries in order to evoke government reforms or to stimulate economic growth. However, foreign aid neither elicits government reform, nor does it consistently and reliably stimulate economic growth; therefore, the United States should discontinue providing foreign economic aid.

Government aid/assistance, or as others may know it, welfare, was created in order to provide assistance and aid to those in the community that may be unemployed or in need of assistance due to a lack of income for both individuals as well as families. In the beginning it was the federal government that managed the assistance program but that was only until the government assistance reform took place, which sent the jurisdiction back down to the states. There was a strong urge from the American citizens to reform the system due to the fact that many Americans believed that the government assistance program was being abused by those utilizing the program. Many Americans believed that those utilizing welfare were not looking for employment, not marrying in order to gain more funding and actually having more children in order to qualify for more cash assistance. Throughout this paper I will discuss each of the subsequent topics: a history of government aid/assistance in the U.S., a synopsis of the situation that created the proposal as well as the enactments of required drug testing, opinions in support of drug testing, ethical consequences based on this proposal for individuals, for the society as a whole, and for public health.

The act of cutting spending from other sectors could potentially have a negative impact on the national security of the United States. One of the most important sectors outside of defense spending related to boosting the strength of national security is foreign aid. Foreign aid has been used as a tool by the United States to stabilize weak states and build alliances with states that could potentially become dangerous adversaries in the future. One of the most significant historic examples of foreign aid was the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II, a conflict in which much of Europe had been decimated by the violence of the war and was unable to rebuild without outside aid (Sarkesian 12). The United States had emerged as the strongest

The Obama administration did a good job of “bolstering” Jordan against chaos from Iraq and Syria so far, but stepping back from the region could still stir up some problems with the neighboring countries of Jordan such as Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt. Although it being risky for the United States, it may not always work to be involved in other countries because of cost and resources that would be used to stabilize the foreign countries rather than reconstructing them. All of these countries want and need western economic, diplomatic, technical, and military assistance, but in order to make that happen, the U.S. needs to get rid of the root of the problem, stating that no matter how many terrorists the United States kills, if these civil wars don’t stop, “more young men will turn to terrorism” (Pollack). There are urgent requests from the Yemeni government for economic reconstruction, which is in a deadly competition with Al-Quaeda (C. Chosky & J. Chosky).  Hence, the United States could do a better job in foreign nations.

These two factors have caused a severe economic recession in Turkey (ibid). In 2002, more than two million jobs in Turkey were lost and the economy shrunk by 9.4 percent (ibid). The 1991 Gulf War left Turkey with no leg to stand on. With an economy in crisis, refugee and trade problems, and the continued necessity of a strong military, Turkey's resources are being stretched thin. However, the U.S. has supported some efforts to aid Turkey. This may be seen as the United State's way of making up for the problems they have caused. Regardless of the intention, the U.S. has pushed for efforts that benefit Turkey.

The presence of United States in Philippines has resulted in a relatively stable South East Asia. Aid by a foreign nation has shown to reduce civil conflict either by increasing the state's capacity to repress conflict, or by encouraging economic growth and diversification of income sources, which subsequently reduces conflict. United States aid has provided more than $1.2 billion in aid packages to Colombia, which has helped in training and equipping the Colombian military and police forces for counter narcotics operation, thus making them self sufficient. The military aid provided by our nation has increased the number of school going children in Afghanistan to 8.2 million in 2014 from 1.1 million in 2001. United States bases have helped improve and stabilize the economy of many nation.

For over the last two decades the Middle East has gradually gathered attention and has come to the forefront of U.S. foreign policy. The focus on this region began primarily after the attacks on the two World Trade Center’s in New York City on September 11th, 2001. Iraq was the initial target in the response to the devastating tragedy. This “response” involved an indefinite occupation with the intention of eliminating “weapons of mass destruction”, with intelligence under the Bush Administration allegedly confirming their existence. As this undeclared war on Iraq took place, U.S. foreign policy was initiated. It consisted of bringing down an authoritarian regime and establishing democracy within the state of Iraq, along with decimating any potential threats to the U.S. homeland. The major threat lying with terrorist organizations in the region such as Al-Qaeda, who were to blame for the 9/11 attacks on U.S. soil. Eventually the deployment of troops into Iraq was left without any particular cause, due to the revelation that Saddam Hussein’s regime had no possession of any nuclear weapons. And as U.S. troops struggled to figure out exactly what they were fighting for, an insurgency began to emerge.

Post the Oslo Accords in 1993, multiple countries supported aid for economic and humanitarian development in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Foreign aid was also used to support the initiation of a peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis. There was a hope of an improvement in the economic standing in the region from both the international community and majority of the Palestinian population. However, it is arguable that the economy of the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank has in fact plummeted to an even worse condition than before the Oslo Accords. Although there have been positive short-term outcomes from the Accords, there have been far more long-term and complex consequences. Donor countries, most importantly the United States, were not able to effectively allocate aid in order to reduce the inefficiency of the Palestinian economy. The inability of the United States to provide stable economic and humanitarian development within Palestine is the result of three main issues: Israeli military occupation and blockades, the unintentional implementation of a dependency for aid in occupied Palestine, and political patronage.

The Middle East has long been home to very deep-rooted conflict. For too long, the citizens of the Middle East have lived in the central of death and fear. The animosity between few, takes the hope of hundreds. The Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict is most notably the largest issue preventing peace in the Middle East, but it is by no means the only issue. The issue of bankrolling and foreign aid are also issues preventing peace; because the U.S provides so much funding and foreign aid to certain countries, it is in some sense encouraging them to continue acting the way they act now and not change for the better of the region. It is also making the U.S look biased and can potentially cause issues for America in the long run, if they haven’t already. There is also the conflict of the Persian Gulf; the importance of these “new” resources and how it could affect the world economy and also the balancing of powers in the Persian Gulf; The U.S and the Middle Eastern nations will need to work to together to bring about security and stability into the Persian Gulf and hopefully it can overflow to the Middle East as well.

The USA exercises its foreign policy through financial aid. For example, scarcity relief in North Korea provides not only humanitarian aid but also a base for the development of democratic ideals and bodies.