Development In The 21st Century -- Foreign Policy
The prepared text of U.S. of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech, delivered to the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C.
I would like to start today with a story about America that often goes untold. It's the story of what can happen around the world when American know-how, American dollars, and American values are put to work to change people's lives.
Read more ....
My Comment: One of the key phrases in her speech yesterday is the following ....
You know the proverb, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime"? If you teach a woman to fish, the impact is even greater. It takes a woman to teach a village.
Sighhhh .... this is the U.S. Secretary of the United States.
When President Bush was advocating nation building in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan .... she was one of the most fervent opponents against such a policy. Now in her speech of yesterday .... she is talking about bringing jobs and opportunity to the millions of young men and women in the Muslim world who are unemployed and/or in poverty. While her calls of accountability are nice .... (realistically) this will not happen. Giving money to governments that are corrupt and/or repressive without telling them what to do is a prescription for corruption and a continuation of poverty
In the end, the Secretary of State's vision of how to use U.S. development funds is going to flounder when the U.S. budgetary crisis gets worse. U.S. international aid is now north of $50 billion dollars .... and while this is a very noble cause, it is an untenable situation when millions of Americans are unemployed and suffering today.
2 comments:
it's also pretty sexist what she is saying..
That's Mark for your comment.
You are right .... it is a sexist remark. But I have a funny feeling that with the exception of only a few people, her speech will not be listened to and/or read .... and will be forgotten tomorrow.
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