Group: Poverty a Security Threat to U.S.

By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer

June 8, 2004, 10:19 AM EDT

WASHINGTON -- Poverty and disease in places such as Afghanistan, Haiti and Somalia pose serious threats to U.S. national security but are frequently overlooked by American policy-makers, a group of former U.S. government officials said Tuesday.

"U.S. foreign policy must break its habit of inertia toward weak states," the Center for Global Development, a private group formed four years ago, said in a report. Among the potential signs of danger is when basic rights are not protected in weak countries, providing an opening for violent political opposition and corruption, it said.

"The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan warn of the serious consequences for our security when we allow governments to collapse and chaos to reign," the report said.

Among the recommendations were establishing a single Cabinet-level agency that that consolidates U.S. support for development for poor countries.

"Weak and failed states pose a 21st century threat to U.S. security, interests and values," the report said. "But the U.S. government institutions charged with meeting this threat are relics of the mid-20th century."

Group: Poverty a Security Threat to U.S.