2013 Briefing Book - Print Version - Aipac

FOREIGN AID
Treasury secretaries of both parties have spoken out about the value of foreign aid.
Winning the War and Winning the Peace
Foreign aid is an essential component of America’s national security strategy. Today, the U.S.
foreign aid budget helps strengthen civil society and build institutional and economic capacity
in the very places where hundreds of thousands of American soldiers are risking their lives.
To succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for “a
dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security—diplomacy,
strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action, and economic reconstruction and
development.” Any hope of winning the peace in current conflict areas will depend on America’s
willingness and ability to invest in building civil society, economic infrastructure and stable
government institutions.
Both the Obama and Bush administrations have included foreign aid, together with defense and
homeland security, as part of overall “national security spending” in the budgets they presented to
Congress. Since our national security challenges extend well beyond traditional military threats, the
United States needs a robust foreign aid program to complement and reinforce American military
efforts to combat aggression and promote stability in crucial conflict zones. U.S. soldiers cannot win
the war with weapons if we do not win the peace with wise investments.
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