So we always hear about interventionism, but what acts are interventionism and what makes it so bad? I’ll be going over the large topic of Interventionism over several posts to give each aspect the attention it deserve. In this post we will going over Foreign Aid, I recommend reading Ron Paul’s book, A Foreign Policy of Freedom, for a very in depth look at interventionism in US policy. Foreign Aid is pretty simple, it’s money we give to foreign nations, it’s primarily used as a political tactic to stimulate behaviors in nations to gravitate to certain policy decisions and to deter them from hostility towards the US. This policy has lead to much political Blow back.

We provided foreign aid to Uzbekistan during the war on Afghanistan in order have the Uzbeks aid in the battle, yet many organizations criticized this as subsidizing a government that subjugates it’s people to beatings and other act of coercion. If our own people feel this way about our financial ties with a nation, can you imagine the message it saids to other oppressive regimes about attaining aid from the US. For example, the authoritarian government in Pakistan who receives aid even though their government is an example of everything our principles are against. While it may serve military interests to buy allies, it sends a message about the compromise of American principles, which can be used to fuel the hate for America around the world.

Afghanistan was a country that was divided among many warlords for years upon years fighting over Kabul, why? If one of these warlords could control Kabul they can lay claim to the nation and ask for foreign aid, essentially this served as the motivation for the conflict that kept Afghanistan divided for so long giving way for the rise of the Taliban.

So aside from tarnishing our reputation and preventing governments from naturally collapsing and forming, a lot of this aid ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations. There are no solid traces of this, but it is common knowledge that many middle eastern governments provide aid to Al-Queda and their ilk. Why should we subsidize the very thing we’re fighting against. Cutting all funds that the US generates to these terrorist organizations is the only way to truly put stop to their fire before it results in the loss of American lives.

Foreign aid is a tactic than can accomplish it’s intended goal of influencing international policy, but at what costs? Should we sacrifice our principles? Prevent stability in other nations, and indirectly fund terrorists in order to manipulate and make a mockery of sovereignty of other states. It’s through the non-interventionist policies promoted by Ron Paul that protect these interests and prevent blow back. Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate as president who would remove foreign aid from the budget and instead rely on diplomacy and trade in order to strengthen ties with nations that not only serve our interests, but hold our principles. It’s only by holding our principles close and steadfast can we ever hope to see those principles truly spread.

- Alex Merced
Cause of Freedom

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