Clinton: U.S. must spend more on foreign aid, increase international cooperation

Sat Jul 6, 5:12 PM ET

By KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writer

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Saturday said the United States should raise its foreign aid budget and increase its commitment to international cooperation.

Speaking to a celebrity crowd of business leaders and sports stars in Stockholm, Clinton said his country, no longer burdened by Cold War military spending in Europe and Japan, can afford to give more to the world's poor.

"We're dead last among all the countries of the world in the percentage of our income we give to foreign assistance," he said. "We have to pick up our fair share."

Clinton said the United States should increase its commitment to international institutions, even if they're not "perfect" from an American perspective.

"If you're in a business, a friendship or a marriage and you don't control it all, you will never believe it's perfect. You enter all kinds of compacts because you believe your life will be richer and better and fuller on balance if you commit yourself to institutional cooperation of all kinds," he said.

About 300 people had gathered at Stockholm's waterfront Grand Hotel to listen to Clinton's 45-minute speech.

He was scheduled to take part in a celebrity golf tournament on Sunday together with international sports profiles including Finnish Formula One driver Mika Hakkinen, Swedish hockey player Peter Forsberg and retired Alpine skiers Franz Klammer of Austria and Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden.

Many of the sports stars were in the crowd Saturday, listening to Clinton detail proposals to reduce world poverty and pledge his support for his successor George W. Bush's efforts at fighting Osama bin Laden's terrorist network al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

Clinton recalled speaking to two former staffers by phone from Australia when the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11 last year.

"The minute the plane hit the second tower, I told them, 'bin Laden did this.' No one else could do it except the Iranians, and they wouldn't because they have a country and targets and something to lose."

Fujitsu Siemens Computers, which invited Clinton to speak, would not reveal his fee.

The former president earned dlrs 9.2 million in speaking fees last year, according to financial disclosure forms released by U.S. authorities.

[Note that Clinton earned $9.2 million in speaking fees last year and add in his wife's salary and his own retirement. I wonder how much of that money he's going to give to foundations to hand out aid and increase international kumbaya? Last I heard, he still hadn't paid his lawyers.]

-- Anonymous, July 06, 2002

Answers

But he said the US should increase its giving, not him or US citizens.

I wonder, truly I do, whether he has a firm grasp of what the US spends on foreign aid yearly.

Explain to me again why we should support the world's poor...

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

Explain to *me* again why anyone gives this man money to speak, let alone the time of day.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

"This man" refers to Clinton, not Barefoot. (:

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

LOL meemur! Like anyone here would have mistaken what you meant!

ROTFL

or paid me to speak, for that matter. LOL

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

On occasion I have considered paying you to not speak.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

Speaking of paying people not to speak, I wonder how Carl is doing these days? I keep leaving weird posts for him over at the Mars forum, but he's not around.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002

I hope he finally found a job and is settling in.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2002