US Aid: Billions for Weapons to Kill, Not Social Development and Food to Eat

The floods in Pakistan have wreaked devastation in an already impoverished country.  An estimated 2000 people have died so far and up to 20 million are affected.  One fifth of the country is flooded according to reports and more death and destruction is on the way as water borne diseases take hold. Maurizio Giuliano of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that six million people and 3.5 million children are "at risk" from such diseases which can spread rapidly.

Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country with a population of some 177 million.  Life expectancy for males is quite low, 64, for women the figure is 67.  Literacy is another problem-----63% of males are literate compared to 36% of females.  The country has an infant mortality rate of 6.5 deaths per 1000 births. Pakistan, as long as its leaders allow US capitalism unfettered access to its land and economy, is an ally of the United States.  The US regularly bombs the country in its search for terrorists killing hundreds of civilians in the process; this has strengthened anti-American sentiment and is a great recruitment tool for what the western media refers to as "terrorists". The US has been very generous though when it makes mistakes like accidentally bombing a wedding party; it has paid as much as $1,500 per corpse.

Cuba, an arch enemy of US capitalism that has suffered under US sanctions for 50 years has a life expectancy of 75 for males and 80 for females.  It's infant mortality rate is lower than Pakistan's at 5.72 deaths per 1000, slightly lower than the US also. According to the CIA, 99% of the population are literate. Being an ally of US imperialism is good for the ruling class of a country whether it be the Saudi monarchy or any other dictatorship.  Undemocratic one party states like Cuba are a problem though as they don't offer Wall Street unfettered access to their economy.

The World Bank announced yesterday that it will making a $900 million loan to Pakistan to assist the country with the flood devastation. This figure is one third the amount some hedge fund managers made last year. And the US has not been tight when it comes to giving  money to Pakistan for military purposes.

The graphic below illustrates the priorities when it comes to US aid. * Of the $5.8 billion in aid given to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) from 2002 to 2007, only 1% was directed at development. Only 2% of total US aid packages since 2001 were for education. Despite all the US taxpayer money poured in to Pakistan for military purposes, Pakistani's are no safer. Civilian deaths have skyrocketed from what is termed as "terrorist violence" from 189 in 2003 to 3559 in 2007 and 86% of Pakistanis surveyed believe their country is headed in the wrong direction.

The other issue is the environment. Much of the cause of  flooding is due to global warming scientists say.  But another contributor to flooding is the removal of forest growth and other agricultural projects that deplete topsoil or have other negative effects on the land.  As other blogs have pointed out, the US is the biggest purveyor of weapons on the planet, supplying to both sides of conflicts which makes it very lucrative.  The US has 28,000 contractors in Afghanistan paid for by the US taxpayer. These firms are actually mercenary outfits, contractors is misleading, purposefully so of course.

This activity on the part of US capitalism is the primary source of anger that fuels the so-called terrorist groups.  The obsession with Iran, a country that has invaded no one of late, is seen for the hypocrisy it is by the vast majority of people in this world. The US is threatening repercussions against Arab states that are demanding that Israel allow inspections of its nuclear facilities.  Israel is widely believed to be the most nuclear armed state in the region with hundreds of warheads although it refuses to confirm or deny that it possesses nuclear weapons.

The disparity between aid that is for weaponry and aid that actually would help people is stunning enough and evidence that US capitalism's aid is all about defending its interests than helping people. Billions of dollars are wasted on weaponry in impoverished countries as the US's friendly dictators solidify their rule as the people starve.  And as this goes on, US workers are losing social services, jobs, and their homes in order to help the US capitalist class in their global plunder creating hatred of Americans and terrorism in their wake.

We are conditioned to believe that capitalism is the only possible social system.   Workers are taught that we cannot rule society, that we cannot control and manage the production of society's needs. All ruling classes in history teach this for obvious reasons.  The capitalist class do not represent our interests at home or abroad. The Pakistani capitalist class does not represent the interests of the workers their either.  We have to build an international workers movement if we want to end the violence and environmental destruction that capitalism leaves in its wake.  This is not an easy task but most people regardless of nationality or religion want the same thing, security, good health, knowledge, a future for their children  and the need to be productive and participate in the organizing of society.

So workers have more in common than we have that separates us which makes the task easier, but we cannot sit idly by.  The alternative to doing nothing is ultimately the end of life as we know it.

* Graphic from: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/08/pakistan_aid_numbers.html