Why Development Matters
In an important speech yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid out the case for utilizing development as a tool of U.S. foreign policy. “[W]e are working to integrate development more closely with defense and diplomacy in the field,” she said. Sec. Clinton referred to the under-resourcing of the civilian side of foreign policy: “USAID and the State Department must have the staff, the expertise, and the resources to design, implement, and evaluate our programs. This is why we are increasing the numbers of foreign service officers at USAID and the State Department…these efforts have not been the work of government alone — which, most people don’t realize, contributes only about one percent of our budget to foreign assistance.” This afternoon Sec. Clinton will swear in the new USAID Administrator, Rajiv Shah, in a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building.
