How much $$$$ does the US give in foreign aid?

[hiwaygal]

There are lots of events over the years that have made us question the value or use of aid American sends to other countries.

Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Kuwait, and now Pakistan (just to name a few I could think of off the top of my head) have recieved aid from us and some of the things they have done are "questionable" to say the least.

I did a quick search and found this:

These questions are amplified as the still-weak U.S. economy and the $1.5 trillion projected-deficit for this fiscal year have combined to bring foreign aid into the forefront of the minds of those who are looking for places to cut government spending.
According to the Congressional Research Service, an estimated $55 billion was appropriated for foreign aid and diplomatic programs in fiscal 2010.

If I did my math right, if we stop all foreign aid and concentrated on righting our own country, it would take us 27 years to make up the projected deficit. 27 YEARS!!!

Of course, that's not really realistic. Prices go up, etc.

But imagine if we stopped foreign aid to most of these countries - we could invest a significant part of $55 billion in new energy sources, or aid to our own poor, or job creation, or repairing our infrastructure...so many opportunities!

We can't (and shouldn't) stop humanitarian aid when it is needed (i.e. Haiti and Japan)...but isn't there an old saying...something about "charity begins at home". We need to take care of ourselves first. Sometimes you have to make sure you are strong enough to help someone else.

Can anyone else find more reputable data on how much foreign aid we give?

[SoCalBrownsFan]

To answer your question......too f#cking much.


And over half the bastards who we give money to, either hate us, or back stab us, or both (ie see Pakistan) Keep the money here in America where it belongs. China wants to be such a big super power, let them foot the bill.

[Koa]

Besides the Iran-Contra Affair, when has Iran received aid in the last four decades? Quite the opposite in fact, as they are currently sanctioned and receive zero aid.

Since WWII, over one-fifth of all US foreign aid has gone to Israel. The most to any country by far. Conservative estimates have totaled about $114 billion from 1949-2008. Obama's newest "budget plan" has us increasing direct military aid to Israel to $3.1 billion per year.

Lets not forget the hidden costs: Loans (to the tune of $42 billion) to Israel are rarely paid back, which essentially get waived off as grants. These pseudo-loans are invariably paid by the American taxpayer and not Israel.

[Legacy Fan]

But wait... Israel has no oil. How can this be?

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Koa

Besides the Iran-Contra Affair, when has Iran received aid in the last four decades? Quite the opposite in fact, as they are currently sanctioned and receive zero aid.

Since WWII, over one-fifth of all US foreign aid has gone to Israel. The most to any country by far. Conservative estimates have totaled about $114 billion from 1949-2008. Obama's newest "budget plan" has us increasing direct military aid to Israel to $3.1 billion per year.

Lets not forget the hidden costs: Loans (to the tune of $42 billion) to Israel are rarely paid back, which essentially get waived off as grants. These pseudo-loans are invariably paid by the American taxpayer and not Israel.

Koa, I understand you have a personal issue with this...so your opinion is going to be quite different from the rest of us.

However, the brief google search I did said that Iranian dissidents had received aid (despite sanctions) as recently as 5 years ago.

I also found this:

Bipartisan bill on Iran seeks more support for dissidents - Washington Times

To be honest, as I stated in my original post, I'm not entirely against humanitarian aid (assuming it goes where it is SUPPOSED to go). But I'm not feeling any heartburn for not providing foreign aid to a country whos leadership has done nothing but criticize the United States.

One thing I've learned in my life - don't bite the hand that feeds you.

[Koa]

Hiway, the "dissident aid" you speak of does not go to Iran, its people, or its infrastructure. It goes to political opponents and, sadly, some pretty bad people.

As I'm sure you know, a dissident is a person who actively challenges an established institution. This can be done through either revolt or terrorism. "Aid" covertly channeled to dissident groups is the polar opposite of humanitarian/military aid given to client states (Kuwait, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, et cetera).

In other words, the Washington Post article basically acknowledges, in nice puffy words, that the US government is funding anti-Iranian terrorist groups. This isn't an outrageous statement because it's already happened in the past. The dissident organization the US funded against Iran in the 1980's was in fact a terrorist group, the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK). The US, in the form of dissident aid, also funded Islamic radical groups against the Soviets in Afghanistan. These same radical groups would later spurn into what we know as the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

U.S. foreign aid is a minor paragraph of the grander failure of this countries foreign policy.

[Legacy Fan]

Originally Posted by Koa

Hiway, the "dissident aid" you speak of does not go to Iran, its people, or its infrastructure. It goes to political opponents and, sadly, some pretty bad people.

The irony here being that none of the money that Iran receives or makes/produces goes to its people or infrastructure either.

And speaking of grand foreign policy failures, Iran's own Ahmadinejoke has spent his political career blaming the US for Iran's economic situation.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by Legacy Fan

The irony here being that none of the money that Iran receives or makes/produces goes to its people or infrastructure either.

And speaking of grand foreign policy failures, Iran's own Ahmadinejoke has spent his political career blaming the US for Iran's economic situation.

Legacy,

To claim that none of the money Iran makes goes back to the people or infrastructure is resorting to hyperboles. Compared to the diamond ringed sheikhs and princes in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, our "allies", the corruption of the Iranian leadership is modest. Unknown to us Americans, a walk through North Tehran, Esfahan, or Kish would leave many surprised at the development and affluent neighborhoods. Make no mistake, I totally agree that Ahmadinejad has done nothing to improve corruption or economic progress. His tenure is a domestic (and global) setback to say the least and I hope we see change soon. That said, even radical presidents such as Ahmadinejad have the ability to make the occasional salient point. His claim that the United States is at fault for their economic stagnation isn't entirely inaccurate.

The ineptitude of Ahmadinejad has surely contributed to soaring inflation, but let's look at another significant factor, shall we? For over three decades the US has imposed worldwide sanctions on the country, freezing billions in global investment, voiding interests earned, barring private companies from conducting business, and providing incentive for the world to avoid Iranian commerce. EU members have complained that this has relegated Iran to feed off the margins of the international financial system, while finding it difficult to conduct commercial transactions with the country in any capacity. Iran has missed out on $60 billion worth of oil investments on top of $1 billion in lost revenue per year. A recent study showed that these policies negatively impact 1.1% of Iran's GDP. It's incredibly significant.

Most importantly, all of this has had little effect on the Iranian political system. The consequences have been a debt paid by the livelihood of the Iranian people.

[Legacy Fan]

Ahhh the sanctions. Revisit the reason they were imposed.

If the freemen in Montana overthrew their governor, I'd imagine DC would probably speak up. I understand Iran is/was a sovereign nation, but if you want to play the world game, you got to want to play by the rules.

[Vegasdogg]

Iran has two leaders (Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah) that cry for the death of America and Israel.

Israel has interests that align quite nicely with the United States. Oh, and they're the ONLY Democracy in the ME. So giving this ally so much foreign aid at least gives us something back in return.

The Iranian people unfortunately are one of a many people in the ME suffering at the hands of a despot or tyrant. Or some fucked up priests. But I don't feel one iota of shame that sanctions have kept more money out of their hands for use in developing nukes. Because I don't believe for one second that an increase in $$$ goes to the people. It goes to supporting terrorism in the form of Hezbollah (or is it Hamas? or both?) to further their idiotic policy of fucking with Israel.

Israel hasn't been without fault. They're just not the fucking animals like the rest of the leaders of the ME.

Iran deserves those sanctions. The people do not. And the Israeli's deserve to foreign aid because they actually provide a very healthy return on investment, which we cannot say about the other 4/5.

Oh, and did I mention they're the ONLY DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Yeah I think I did.

[Koa]

How nice of you to drop by Veg.

The only problem with your artfully meaningless word salad is that it’s the product of conditioned thinking: anything opposite the American Way = against us, we = the righteous ones, and Israel = devout friends. This type of manufactured consent is courtesy of plutocratic lobbies and the Murdoch-run media. Such things aren't only a problem here, but throughout many nations (Iran, Israel, Russia, US, etc). While their outlets of speech may be different, the product is the same. I challenge you to look at global issues on a macro level and not just from the United States’ perspective.

Looking at facts rather than ideologies, history proves that a sacred alliance with Israel pays zero dividends. Besides giving a “proxy wing” to the US military, which produces its own consequences, Israel is strategically insignificant: miniscule in geography, reckless government, poor terrain, bare resources, and a polarizing demography. What exactly is it that “aligns quite nicely”? You’re lying to yourself if you think its a common democracy. What kind of democracy oppresses the weakest members of its society, the Palestinians? Setting up roadblocks, portioning Gaza's water and electricity, building walls beyond recognized borders, and preventing people from moving around freely is more conducive to an apartheid state. If you want a clearer answer, Israel is functioning as an ethnocracy: a government that expands their dominant group throughout a contested territory, while maintaining a democratic façade.

If you’re still in discord then surely the malicious attack of the USS Liberty, Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, or Israel's reckless deterrence strategy--the Samson Option, should remove the stitches from your eyes. Friends like these.

As for Iran, if you feel they deserve sanctions, you also accept stripping the people of their livelihood as a credible option. Look no further than the Iraqi sanctions to realize its devastation on human welfare. More importantly, search throughout modern history and try to find an occurrence where Iran had preemptively invaded a sovereign nation. Once you weed out the spin, you’ll have trouble finding anything. Even during the Iran-Iraq war, while Saddam cluster bombed forces with chemical weapons, the Persians refused to return the indecency. Sorry, but actions should speak louder than rhetoric. And before you rant about secret alliances with Hezbollah, who certainly have a dark history, they (at bare minimum) are still an elected political party within the Lebanese government. The same can’t be said about the Mujahideen, PJAK, and Jundallah: three violent anti-Iranian terror groups with past ties to the CIA. So if hypocrisy is your style, carry on I suppose.

I'm not resentful towards my country in the least, but facts need to be laid out straight so citizens like you and me can digest them properly. It would become obvious that Iran never asked for any "fucking" aid in first place, and certainly never "fucked" with our welfare. Simply, they prefer to be "fucking" left alone. I'll leave it at this... a fantastic book, Strategic Intelligence and Statecraft, details the importance of acquiring cultural (not just political) awareness about the countries that shape our domestic and foreign policies. We score very poorly in this category. With that said, if you had an ounce of knowledge about what cultivated the political regime in Iran, perhaps you would understand the resonance beneath the scornful “Death to…” slogans. Guy, it doesn't take an intellectual to realize these aren’t political doctrines or marches for war. "Axis of Evil" is not much different. They are symbolic idioms based off a contentious revolution: one that never would have happened if the CIA hadn’t overthrown Iran's democratically elected and peaceful president. Yes, democratically—you seem to like that word so I’ll let it sit with you.

[Legacy Fan]

Well Koa, I know most of your post was directed at Veg, but my response to the 2nd half of it as unsolicited advice to Iran would be "Move on. Get over it, and figure it out."

How many "death to Britain" chants have you heard since you've been in the States?

The people of Iran can't continue to look down the street at Dubai, and see the giant indoor ski-slope in the middle of the desert and keep with the Death to USA meme. If they're being honest, that is. The younger generations, if I am understanding my Iranian classmates/friends properly (and as evidenced by the recent election protests), are looking to move away from that meme and desiring to "figure it out." Change the attitude, fix the leadership, and Dubai represents the type of wealth available to the people of Iran (if the leadership is fixed). A tall order, no doubt, as we can't even get that kind of leadership here in the US.