Poverty & National Security - The Borgen Project

"A world where some live in comfort and
plenty, while half of the human race lives on
less than $2 a day, is neither just nor stable,"
The National Security Strategy of the White House.

The National Security Strategy of the
United States of America - The Official
Document outlining the plan of the White
House for protecting the U.S. The
following sections of the report discuss the
importance of addressing global poverty:
- Economic Growth through Free Markets
- Expand the Circle of Development

You Don't Say?
After the September 11th,
terrorist attacks, a group of
prominent business leaders
(including Bill Gates Sr.)
began discussing what
could be done to prevent
future attacks. The group
determined eliminating
extreme global poverty is
the most important issue
facing the U.S. Learn more
about the Initiative for
Global Development.

9-11 Commissions Findings:
"A comprehensive U.S. strategy to
counter terrorism should include
economic policies that encourage
development, more open societies, and
opportunities for people to improve the
lives of their families and to enhance
prospects for their children’s future."

"When people lose hope, when societies
break down, when countries fragment,
the breeding grounds for terrorism are
created. Backward economic policies and
repressive political regimes slip into
societies that are without hope, where
ambition and passions have no
constructive outlet."

"Pakistan’s endemic poverty, widespread
corruption, and often ineffective
government create opportunities for
Islamist recruitment. Poor education is a
particular concern. Millions of families,
especially those with little money, send
their children to religious schools, or
madrassahs. Many of these schools are
the only opportunity available for an
education, but some have been used as
incubators for violent extremism.
According to Karachi’s police
commander, there are 859 madrassahs
teaching more than 200,000 youngsters in
his city alone."

Uncle Sam himself,
USAID report
"Foreign Aid in the
National Interest."

Addressing Poverty to
Improve U.S. Security
is Nothing New
A 1997 report published by
the Congressional Budget
Office had the headline
“Development in other
countries enhances U.S.
security.” Read the report.

USAID:Foreign Aid in
the National Interest -
Report by the White
House that explains
why addressing global
poverty is imperative to
national security.

Read the 911 R eport O nline

Edward Says...
“The battle of peace has to be fought on
two fronts. The first front is the security
front, where victory spells freedom from
fear. The second is the economic and
social front, where victory means
freedom from want. Only victory on
both fronts can assure the world of an
enduring peace.” US Secretary of State
Edward R. Stettinius in 1945.

ONE Campaign
Alertnet
Adopt a Minefield
Vietnam Veterans of America
National Veterans LSP
Globalissues.org
UNDP
World Health Organization
UN-Habitat
UNHCHR
DFID
World Bank
UNFPA
Choike
Make Poverty History
U N Development Program

UN Humanitarian Affairs News
UN News Center
UN Statistics Division on the MDG's
UN Dispatch
United Nations Secretary General
UN Foundation
Main Bodies of the UN
UN Humanitarian Affairs
UN Economic and Social Development
FAQ's on the UN
Millennium Promise
Millennium Project
Millennium Campaign

“More than ever, U.S.
foreign policy toward the
developing world plays a
vital role in the global
balance between conflict
and peace. Our national
security challenges are
increasingly complex and
the role of development
increasingly recognized
as pivotal.”

Did you know... 78% of Americans favor
helping poor countries develop their
economies as a measure to combat
international terrorism.

"The importance of deploying civilian expertise has been
relearned – the hard way – through the effort to staff
Provincial Reconstruction Teams, first in Afghanistan
and more recently in Iraq. The PRTs were designed to
bring in civilians experienced in agriculture, governance,
and other aspects of development – to work with and
alongside the military to improve the lives of the local
population, a key tenet of any counterinsurgency effort."

"This year’s budget for the Department of Defense – not
counting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan – is nearly
half a trillion dollars. The total foreign affairs budget
request for the State Department is $36 billion – less
than what the Pentagon spends on health care alone."

"There are only about 6,600 professional Foreign
Service officers – less than the manning for one aircraft
carrier strike group."

"When Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral
Mike Mullen was Chief of Naval Operations, he once
said he’d hand a part of his budget to the State
Department “in a heartbeat."

"For all of those brave men and women struggling for a
better life, there is – and must be – no stronger ally or
advocate than the United States of America. Let us
never forget that our nation remains a beacon of light
for those in dark places. And that our responsibilities to
the world – to freedom, to liberty, to the oppressed
everywhere – are not a burden on the people or the
soul of this nation. They are, rather, a blessing."

PENTAGON CALLS FOR POVERTY-REDUCTION FUNDING

Read the full
speech by
Secretary of
Defense Robert
Gates

Poverty and National Security

Poverty creates conditions of instability. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and
Somalia, the poorest countries on earth, are also the countries where terrorist
groups have found safe havens. In regions where people are desperate and barely
surviving, terrorist groups have easily won support by building schools and
improving conditions. For the United States to win in regions where terrorists
operate, the U.S. will have to do more to improve the plight of people living in
those regions.