Reorientate aid to fight terrorism

It's time that countering terrorism became an official objective of Australia's aid policy.  And it is time for all other objectives of foreign aid be "harmonised" in order to give primacy to countering terrorism.

Poverty alleviation in itself is no longer an adequate objective unless it also relates to countering terrorism.

Foreign aid has a role in the war on terror.  The OECD's Development Assistance Committee made this clear in a publication, A Development Co-operation Lens on Terrorism Prevention.

At the recent APEC press conference in Santiago, Prime Minister Howard indicated that he didn't "share the view that terrorists themselves ... are the products of poverty".

The Prime Minister's view is backed up by research conducted by Princeton University economist Alan B. Krueger and Middle Eastern expert Jitka Maleckova of Prague's Charles University.  The two compared the backgrounds of terrorists from several regions to typical members of the terrorists' own societies and found that the terrorists tended to be more affluent and better educated than the average citizen.  They also found that support for terrorism did not rise as poverty increased.  Interestingly they also noted that affluent Palestinians were more likely to support suicide bombings than poor Palestinians.

According to Krueger and Maleckova, "terrorism is less like property crime and more like a violent form of political engagement".  They went on to assert that "more-educated people from privileged backgrounds are more likely to participate in politics, probably in part because political involvement requires some minimum level of interest [and] expertise ... all of which are more likely if people are educated enough and prosperous enough to concern themselves with more than economic subsistence".  Osama bin-Laden and many of his lieutenants are cases-in-point.  A cynic might even argue that it is affluence, not poverty, that is a more likely cause of terrorism.

But while terrorists are generally not poor themselves, they do use poverty as a point of advocacy and do thrive in failed nation states.

To his credit, Foreign Minister Downer has already started re-orientating our aid program towards a more focused approach in dealing with the threats that confront Australia.

In August last year the Government released a document entitled Counter-Terrorism and Australian Aid which details targeted projects in the region that will enhance security.

Also, the Howard Government's efforts to restore law and order in the region have been among the most significant contributions to development assistance and security in a very long time.

More of this, not less, needs to be done.  The Howard Government must also assume leadership in pressuring international institutions like the World Bank to follow its lead.

Before September 11 the Government believed mass poverty was "the single most important economic and social issue on our planet".  Clearly, this is no longer the case.  Today we face a new Cold War, one against extremist Islamicist terrorism.  For western countries such as Australia, the war against terrorism is our main priority and it is time that our aid policy, as part our foreign policy formally came to reflect this new strategic reality.

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