U.S. Foreign Aid and Democracy Promotion

President Bush signed into law the foreign spending bill for the fiscal year 2006 (FY06).

The foreign spending bill is an extremely important tool in implementing the U.S. policy and serving its interests and objectives. Promoting democracy worldwide, especially in the Middle East, is our valuable aim, which must take advantage of this measure. The increasing room for the democratization policy within the foreign spending bill is something gradual and in need of time to get more applicable and harmonious with the many-objectives policy, considering the huge role and commitments of the U.S. in the world. But the start is possible and required currently. This fact, besides the importance of the deliberate pro-democracy policy to the U.S. interests and strategic position in the 21st century, must become clear to the U.S. congress.

Considering all, I don not say that the democratic considerations must constitute basic conditions to the foreign aid at this time. that would not be a realistic manner. What I hope is to take those considerations into account at delivering the foreign aid. Evolving somehow a flexible linkage between the foreign aid and the democratization policy would be helpful and significant as a part of the comprehensive pursuit of democracy promotion worldwide and particularly in the Middle East.

The basing on legal stipulations is a required advanced practice. I extremely hail the clause of economic assistance of Egypt, which obliges the Egyptian government to undertake "significant economic and political reforms which are additional to those which were undertaken in previous fiscal years".

The direct aid to the civil society and NGOs which intend the democratic improvement or transformation is indispensable for democracy promotion. However, this kind of aid is in many cases subject to political conditions particularly with regard to undemocratic governments. And I think it is something relative to the international order and norms and their development as I said before.