02 November 2016
By Jacob G. Hornberger
A dispute that is taking place between Saudi Arabia and Egypt indirectly
demonstrates the nature of U.S. foreign aid. After dumping a walloping $25
billion in foreign aid to help the Egyptian military dictatorship's economic
woes, the Saudis are hopping mad.
Why?
Because last month in the United Nations, contrary to Saudi Arabia's wishes,
Egypt voted in favor of a Russian resolution on Syria.
In the world of foreign aid, that's a super no-no. When a regime has received
$25 billion from another regime, it is expected to vote the way its benefactor
wants it to vote.
In a remarkable admission regarding foreign aid, at least in this particular
case, the New York Times, in an article on the matter, wrote, ''The Saudis may
have thought they were buying loyalty….'' The Times article pointed out that
to punish the Egyptians for their independence, ''The state-owned Saudi oil
company, Aramco, postponed a promised shipment of 700,000 tons of discounted
oil in October, and the spokesman for Egypt's oil ministry said the fate of
November's shipment remains unknown.''
Although the New York Times would probably be reluctant to describe U.S.
foreign aid in the same way, that's precisely what it is — a way to purchase
''loyalty'' from foreign regimes, including dictatorships. The U.S. government
loves to put foreign regimes on the federal dole because once that happens,
U.S. officials know that they have bought them, lock, stock, and barrel. Once
a regime is on the dole, it inevitably becomes dependent on it.
The racket works like this: The IRS collects money from hard-pressed U.S.
taxpayers, which U.S. officials use to send millions of dollars in foreign aid
to foreign regimes.
The foreign regimes then use the money to buy weaponry to fortify their hold
on power or to just to line the pockets of government officials.
It doesn't matter to U.S. officials what the tyrants do to people within their
country. They can abuse them, incarcerate them, torture them, or kill them.
None of that matters to U.S. officials.
What matters to U.S. officials is the international arena. Like votes in the
UN. Or public support for U.S. invasions, coups, interventions,
assassinations, kidnappings, and the like. Or joining coalitions of the
willing. That's when U.S. officials expect ''loyalty,'' in the form of blind
support, which was what Saudi Arabia was expecting from the Egyptian tyrants.
And heaven help any nation that takes the ''wrong'' position. The U.S. will
respond in the same way the Saudis have responded to the Egyptians. It will
threaten to do very bad things to the nation that opposes a U.S invasion,
coup, or resolution within the UN. When a nation is on the U.S. dole, U.S.
officials expect ''loyalty.''
Americans can't do anything about foreign aid by the Saudi government. But
they can do something about U.S. foreign aid. What they should do is demand
that it be ended, immediately.
Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom
Foundation. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. in
economics from Virginia Military Institute and his law degree from the
University of Texas. He was a trial attorney for twelve years in Texas. He
also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught
law and economics. In 1987, Mr. Hornberger left the practice of law to become
director of programs at the Foundation for Economic Education. He has
advanced freedom and free markets on talk-radio stations all across the
country as well as on Fox News' Neil Cavuto and Greta van Susteren shows and
he appeared as a regular commentator on Judge Andrew Napolitano's show
Freedom Watch. View these interviews at LewRockwell.com and from Full
Context.
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