Is Spending the Strategy?
Is Spending the Strategy?
by Scott Dempsey
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American foreign assistance has long been misunderstood if not ridiculed by detractors as a frivolous expense that does not serve American interests. In an attempt to reassert the relevance of aid on the battlefield, Congress and the Obama administration have allocated unprecedented resources — via USAID and the Commanders Emergency Reconstruction Program (CERP) — with the thought that money, when paired with military force, can stabilize even the most violent hotspots around the globe. This belief is so widely held that during President Obama’s 2009 West Point speech announcing a troop surge in Afghanistan, he called for a corresponding “civilian surge that reinforces positive action.”
Download the Full Article: Is Spending the Strategy?
Until February 2011, Scott Dempsey was a USAID Foreign Service Officer, most recently with the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs in Washington. From July 2009 – August 2010, he served as a development officer in Helmand Province. He also previously deployed as a Marine on a civil affairs team in Fallujah in 2005.
