This is what we should be doing with every single penny of Aid money. Aligning it with OUR national interest.
Great story... when Reagan appointed a new ambassador, he would always meet with them and take them over to a globe in his office. The question he asked them was "What country do you represent?" Invariably, they would go over to the globe and show Reagan what country they were headed to.
And Reagan always told them... "That's the country you are going to be ambassador to. The country you represent is The United States of America." He made damn sure that every ambassador knew that they were not being sent abroad to represent that country... but that they were there in the interest of the USA.
It's a damn good lesson for State Department officials who think they are in some country to help that country. NO. They are there to represent the People of the United States. If we can help... great. We should do that. But only if it aligns with our national interests. And if the country in question is not in alignment with our national interests, then the Ambassadors job is to make damn sure that we are not abetting them in trying to work against us.
As Churchill famously said: "Nations do not have friends. They have interests." (I am pretty sure that was Churchill... but I might be wrong.)
And there is nothing wrong with that. Nationalism, which helps countries become self-sufficient and helps them focus on the welfare of their own people, is a good thing. Globalism is a toxic plague on the planet. Yet Nationalism has been turned into a pejorative term by the very globalists who want to rule over a planet of serfs. Loving your country is the first step to turning it into a place you want to live and succeed. The world needs more of that.
Sirhr