PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
06 March 2008
Bush Requests Nearly $7 Billion To Strengthen U.S. Diplomacy
Funding to aid initiatives in Mideast, Africa, Asia, Western Hemisphere
Washington −- President Bush is asking Congress for nearly $7 billion in extra funding to pay for diplomatic initiatives aimed at giving U.S. allies in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Western Hemisphere the tools they need to promote peace and stability, build strong governments, deliver essential services to their citizens and promote long-term prosperity.
“We have to be stronger, more creative and more determined than the enemies of peace,” Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says.
The $6.897 billion requested by the White House is in addition to the State Department’s $35 billion request for 2008, and is one component of a larger $196.5 billion emergency supplemental funding package aimed primarily toward ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a March 6 House Appropriations Committee hearing, Negroponte said the international affairs funding, if approved, would help further a host of U.S. priorities in addition to stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan. These include providing support for international peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region, building on international diplomatic progress on the Korean Peninsula, helping Mexico confront drug traffickers and supporting Israelis and Palestinians as they work for peace.
In Iraq, he said, a surge in coalition forces during 2007 improved security conditions and created new opportunities to help the Iraqi people. With $679 million, the United States could field an additional 27 Provincial Reconstruction Teams as well as embassy operations to support the Iraqi government. An additional $956 million in foreign aid could help spur development and promote new business opportunities.
For Afghanistan, the president is seeking $839 million to “reconnect the people to their government” with new roads and infrastructure, training a new generation of leaders, and promoting new economic opportunities as an alternative to extremism. Similar measures are needed across the border in Pakistan, he added, requesting $60 million to help the Pakistani government improve conditions in its Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The United Nations missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan complement U.S. efforts to confront terrorism and create new government and security institutions, as well as promote human rights and the rule of law, justifying a $53 million contribution requested by the Bush administration, he said.
The United Nations is also playing a key role in addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, Negroponte said, and the White House is asking Congress to provide a $723.6 million contribution for these operations as part of the regular budget. An additional $70 million from this supplemental request could improve conditions in Darfur by supporting Sudan’s upcoming elections, which could strengthen the fragile comprehensive peace agreement between North and South.
In February 2007, the Six-Party Talks achieved a breakthrough when North Korea agreed to start dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for energy assistance and other aid. Negroponte said $54 million of the request will further progress by purchasing and shipping heavy fuel oil.
Closer to home, Negroponte said, Mexico faces the challenge of drug cartels and organized crime responsible for smuggling 90 percent of the cocaine that reaches America’s streets. President Felipe Calderón has asked for U.S. help, and the White House seeks $550 million from Congress, to be followed by an additional $550 million next year in support of its southern neighbor. This funding is part of the Merida Initiative, which helps fight organized crime and drug trafficking in Central America and Mexico.
Finally, Negroponte appealed for $220 million in support to the Palestinian Authority, which the United States views as a partner for peace.
“We think that the government of [President] Mahmoud Abbas is a force for peace in the area and is a constructive force, and we need to work with them in order to try to advance the peace process as best and as far as we can. And we think that right now in the remaining months of President Bush's administration represent an excellent opportunity to move the peace process forward,” he said.
A transcript of Negroponte’s remarks is available from the State Department Web site.
