NYT’s Kristof: USAID Saves American Lives and It Saves Money

EXCERPT:

KRISTOF: “And look, we confront China with expensive aircraft carriers, but we also compete with China in Africa, for example. You know China is going to be thrilled at our just pulling out of the competition. It was striking that when Robert Gates was Defense Secretary, he was pleading with Congress to allocate more money to USAID because those kinds of investments are in a crucial escort of military spending. When Jim Mattis was testifying before Congress, he said that if you don’t invest in diplomacy, you’ve got to buy me more bullets. And so, this kind of investment, it does indeed save money. It does indeed save American lives, as well as those of people halfway around the world. And so, you know, we should have, we should have hearts that bleed for kids who were dying unnecessarily, but we should also be alert to our own security. And that’s what USAID helps accomplish.”