The United States currently maintains a unique position in the world. Given its resources, the U.S. has the potential to play an important role in promoting peace and reducing poverty. However, U.S. foreign policy has often favored unilateral military action over international cooperation. Damaged relationships abroad, policies focused on short term results and a reliance on military intervention rather than diplomatic efforts, have created conflict and suffering. U.S. military spending nearly doubled under the Bush administration.
U.S. military spending accounts for 48 percent of the world’s military spending. This is more than the next 46 highest spending countries combined. Forty three percent of the 2007 U.S. federal budget was allocated to the military, while roughly 1 percent was dedicated to non-military international programs and another 12 percent went to efforts to reduce poverty.
President Bush requested $518.3 billion for the military in the FY 2009 federal budget. Congress approved a 6.2 percent increase in military spending from the previous fiscal year, $4 billion less than the requested amount. This number does not include $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If the violence escalates in these countries, as is the case in Afghanistan, that number could triple.
This imbalanced emphasis of budgetary priority on military might has diminished international relationships and has exacerbated insecurity in many parts of the world. Rather than heavily investing in military efforts, the U.S. ought to invest in preventive strategies that repair broken relationships abroad and address root causes which lead to insecurity. Expanding economic aid and development, investing in diplomacy, and strengthening international organizations are three ways the U.S. can promote a sustainable global peace and increase security without resorting to costly and destructive military intervention.
Expand Economic Aid and Development
The primary law that governs U.S. foreign assistance took effect in the 1960s. The development challenges of the 21st century differ greatly from those of the 1960s, but the law remains unreformed. Instead of fixing a broken system, the cracks of foreign aid are increasingly being filled by the Department of Defense (DOD). This militarization of aid not only highlights the lack of interest in effectively reforming the foreign aid system, but blurs the lines between the role of the military and the role of development agencies.
The U.S. has been instrumental in several development successes including smallpox eradication, river blindness control, and rural electrification efforts in Bangladesh.While these triumphs ought to be motivating forces to continue development efforts, significant challenges remain. Malaria kills an estimated one million people per year. More than 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, from preventable causes. Of the 771 million illiterate adults in the world, 64 percent are women. The current global financial crisis has resulted in rising unemployment and food prices which have already led to civic unrest and threatened security. If the United States truly seeks to promote global peace and security, it ought to start by addressing the root causes of unrest: poverty and inequality.
Invest in Diplomacy
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has argued that the U.S. spends too little on diplomacy and aid to other nations. Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice both recommended increased funding for the State Department. Budget cuts resulted in decreasing staff, therefore limiting the capacity and effectiveness of the entire department. Currently 700,000 civil servants work for the DOD, while the State Department employs 11,500.
Without proper staffing and resources, the department is simply unable to analyze conflicts, respond to crises, and engage in serious diplomacy. Investing in diplomacy, which aims to prevent conflict, is more economical than the current spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an uncertain economic climate, mounting national debt, and massive budget deficits, the United State should pursue sustainable policies that will yield long term results and ultimately save billions. Investing in diplomacy is not only fiscally responsible, but also avoids the tremendous cost of human suffering and loss of life that occurs in violent conflicts.
Strengthen International Organizations
Unilateral and preemptive action has characterized the tone of U.S. foreign policy in recent years.As of June 30, 2008, U.S. arrears to the United Nations stood at $1.9 billion. The U.S. should support UN post-conflict peace building, since more than half of all states emerging from conflict revert back to violence within five years.
Moreover, UN peacekeeping is a bargain. The total cost of UN peacekeeping operations and administration for 2008 is $12.2 billion, approximately what the U.S. spends on Iraq each month.When the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) compared costs for a UN peacekeeping mission to a similar U.S. operation, it found that the U.S. initiative would be twice as expensive. Reallocating U.S. military spending to investing in the UN is economical and fiscally responsible.
Further, re-energizing U.S. participation and investment in the United Nations and other international organizations would help repair damaged relationships abroad. Building international coalitions would relieve some of the economic burden and negative perceptions the U.S. has placed on itself, thanks to a foreign policy that favors unilateral action. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, the U.S. cannot afford to isolate itself by ignoring the international community.
What does current U.S. military spending say about our priorities? As Christians who are citizens of a powerful country, we have a legitimate voice to advocate for a federal budget that values human life. Further, our budget ought to reflect a commitment to expanding aid, investing in diplomacy, and participating in the international community. Imagine what the U.S. could accomplish if it prioritized sustainable initiatives that valued development and cooperation, instead of expanding military might.
