<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dlm:
As a follow up comment, If the USA cutback by 50% all the foriegn aid that the taxpayers provide to nations throughout the world, with this money the government can buy the baddly needed x-ray scanners for the airports so that ALL checked bags are screened. Not only that but with all those BILLIONS of extra dollars we could....don't get me started.</font>
[SARCASM]Yes, those ungrateful *******s in the least developed countries who receive the equivalent of .09 per cent of US GDP (1997 figures) should just get in line like everyone else. [/SARCASM]
From 1946 to 1993 the US spent an average of 9 billion/year on foreign aid, but 35% of this was military assistance, aka government subsidies to the defense industry. Recent spending has been around 13 billion/year.