The Bush administration has given the top 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans record tax breaks, cut social welfare funding, and has attempted to gut social security; creating an country of "haves" and "have nots". Now it seems that Bush lackey John Bolton has taken the "War on the Poor" to the United Nations.
According to the recent article in the Washington Post, The White House (via Bolton) has proposed some 500 amendments to resolutions for a UN Summit set to take place in September.
UN President Kofi Annan originally planned for the summit to focus on fighting poverty and disease in underdeveloped countries, but the new amendments call for the resolutions to emphasize "tougher action against terrorism".
According to the Washington Post the some of the amendments " [Propose] to eliminate new pledges on foreign aid to impoverished nations."
The White House also stated publicly that it felt the original draft's section on poverty was "too long." and is pushing the UN to renegotiate.
Once again, the Bush Administration is making a deliberate attempt to ignore and downplay the problem of poverty; both in the US and around the world.
What they fail to realize is that impoverished nations breed terrorists. When a wealthy and powerful nation like the US ignores the less fortunate and seeks to keep them underfoot, it creates the kind of animosity and desperation which is the seed for hatred and an almost sure-fire way of radicalizing poor youth with nothing to lose.
In the end, the only way to truly fight and win the "War on Terror" is to show such countries the we believe and practice the principles and freedoms our country was founded upon. So far, President Bush has only proven the terrorists correct by presenting the US as a violent, selfish, greedy bully.
Until we actively reach out to the UN and lend a hand to fight poverty in and outside of the US, we will continue to be a target for terrorists around the world.