September 25, 2012

Foreign aid, which includes financial, defensive and humanitarian assistance, has become an issue of importance to the American Muslim community. With the emergence of the Arab Spring, especially with the upheaval in Syria, foreign aid is an issue that needs to be considered as a sustained form of diplomacy and responsibility for those who need protection. 

Humanitarian action in the face of social unrest and civil uprising should be explored. Growth and development are sub-categories that should be outlined by policy makers as issues dealing not only with military aid but with humanitarian assistance as well. Foreign aid, which includes financial, defensive and humanitarian assistance, has become especially critical since the emergence of the Arab Spring. Foreign aid is a significant issue that needs to be sustained and improved in order for people to be able to attain the help they need, regardless of where they are in the world. 

President Barack Obama:

1. In September of 2010, Obama spoke at the U.N. and outlined a new foreign aid policy consisting of four key points:

changing how we define development
changing how we view the ultimate goal of development
new emphasis on broad-based economic growth
insistence on more responsibility and accountability for aid

2. According to the OMB estimates, President Obama's budget for 2011 placed the U.S. on a path to double U.S. foreign aid by 2015.

(Source:http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/President/US/Barack_Obama/Views/International_Aid/)

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney:

1. Reduce Foreign Aid — Savings: $100 Million.

2. Stop borrowing money from countries that oppose America’s interests in order to give it back to them in the form of foreign aid.

3. Romney also said that he supported foreign aid for defense but not humanitarian purposes.

(Sources: http://www.mittromney.com/issues/spending;http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romney-lets-cut-humanitarian-foreign-aid-and-get-china-step_598304.html)

(Source: http://archive.mpac.org/issues/foreign-policy/icsc-symposium-to-discuss-humanitarian-aid-to-the-arab-spring.php)