In February 2003, President Bush laid out a new program that would tie foreign policy spending to the political behavior and climate of a country. This foreign policy statement was drowned out by the march to war with Iraq. But now it is reemerging for debate as the next budget starts being negotiated.
For those of you who know my posts it should not be a surprise to you that I am not a fan of our present President. But I am not predisposed to hate this idea. I have long said that we should try to promote democracy around the world with diplomacy.
But like many other Bush proposals this one may have too much economic, pro-United States corporation emphasis tied in with a program I would otherwise support.
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MCA represents a new approach to providing and delivering development assistance. This new compact for development breaks with the past by tying increased assistance to performance and creating new accountability for all nations. This proposal implements my commitment to increase current levels of core development assistance by 50 percent over the next 3 years, thus providing an annual increase of $5 billion by fiscal year 2006. The U.S. will channel these funds only to developing countries that demonstrate, not promise, a strong commitment to:
ruling justly (e.g., upholding the rule of law, rooting out corruption, protecting human rights and political freedoms)
investing in their people (e.g., investment in education and health care)
encouraging economic freedom (e.g., open markets, sound fiscal and monetary policies, appropriate regulatory environments, and strong support for private enterprise).
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The MCA will be administered by a new, small Government corporation, called the Millennium Challenge Corporation, designed to support innovative strategies and to ensure accountability for measurable results. The Corporation will be supervised by a Board of Directors chaired by the Secretary of State and composed of other Cabinet-level officials. The Corporation will be led by a Chief Executive Officer appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. This proposal provides the Corporation with flexible authorities to optimize program implementation, contracting, and personnel selection while pursuing innovative strategies.
http://www.mca.gov/My question for debate is, do you like all or part of the Millennium Challenge Account as an American foreign policy? Why or why not?