Poverty fight cheaper than war

Clinton's latest claim that fighting poverty is a wise investment in prevention of war, genocide and other expensive endeavors it right on target. For too long liberals have only promoted the humanitarian logic of wise foreign aid. Clinton makes both the economic and national security rational in one short statement. Will bleeding heart liberals catch before failing to meet the MDG goals. Don't hold your breath. But, don't stop making the case in letters to the editor and Members of Congress. Both Dems and Republicans seem to be open to new ideas after the 2006 elections.

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Poverty fight cheaper than war: Clinton
By FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES

MONTREAL -- Investing in the global fight against poverty is far cheaper than paying for the eventual consequences of inaction, former U.S. president Bill Clinton said yesterday.

"All of the things we can do are much cheaper than dealing with the aftermath of calamity," he told several thousand people who attended the Montreal Millennium Promise conference. "And they also parenthetically are much cheaper than going to war," he said to thunderous applause. The Americans have spent US$400 billion on the war in Iraq and US$100 billion on Afghanistan, yet have failed to honour their commitment to provide $30 billion a year in foreign aid, he noted. "It's quite astonishing the comparative costs of avoiding calamity with dealing with the aftermath," he said, referring to hardships in Darfur, Congo and Rwanda.