Former deputy secretary of defense John Hamre isn’t a bit happy with Washington, and he’s got a good reason. Even though our politicians profoundly disagree on where we should be heading as a country, they all agree on one thing: We can no longer afford to give aid to foreign countries. We don’t have the money to lend a hand the way we used to.
John Hamre
In his speech at the Chautauqua Institution on June 29, Hamre argued this is exactly the wrong strategy, and made a spectacular case for foreign assistance. He began by pointing out that Americans are already the most generous people in the world: per capita, we give six times more than the second most generous country. Why? Because it’s in our national self-interest to do so.
He pointed to the Cold War. The US couldn’t compete with the USSR based solely on military might: We never had an army that even approached the Soviets’. Our strategy relied on winning ideas that gathered hearts and minds on our side. In short, we won the Cold War not because of our military prowess but because the world wanted us to win.
So what are these winning ideas that helped make America so popular? asked Hamre. Open government, free elections, judicial rule of law, freedom of speech and freedom of religion: These are the concepts we held out to the world. These were the keys to our success.
He then went on to juxtapose these ideas with our reaction to 9/11. Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, secret renditions: These grew out of our fear and anger. To the rest of the world, we abandoned what we stood for. We looked like hypocrites, and our national image was forever tarnished.
He believes it’s in our interest to be active proponents of development and diplomacy abroad, despite what budget-conscious American politicians are saying. “One thing that poverty creates is… limited imagination, and it creates a diminished spirit,” said Hamre. We have to be careful not to let this become America’s thinking, lest we lose more hearts and minds.
We need to stay focused on what we are trying to accomplish as a nation. We need to build healthier people, healthier societies and healthier countries around the world. Both right-wing conservatives and leftist liberals can embrace this goal – whether from a national security standpoint (are the millions of unemployed, angry men living in and around Afghanistan good for our safety?) or a humanitarian angle.
Hamre argued that we need a new national narrative concerning global development and foreign aid. He outlined a need to both build better, freer governments around the world, and to get the private sector more involved in job creation abroad.
The question still remains: Can we afford this agenda? Hamre responded with another question: Can we afford not to do this? Our military is the most inefficient way to exercise national power, he said. The most cost-efficient way for America to go forward as a global superpower is to inspire the world with good ideas, in the process making more friends than enemies.
Watch John Hamre: Global Health & Development as Foreign Policy on-demand at FORA.tv.