Bono tells US senators aid is security, not charity

THE United States should not see the aid money it spends abroad as charity but as a vital national security tool, Irish rock star Bono told US lawmakers Tuesday.
Addressing a Senate sub-committee that oversees funding for campaigns against violent extremism, Bono said he had recently met with refugees in Africa and the Middle East.
"The fact is that aid can no longer be seen as charity, as a nice thing to do when we can afford it," said Bono, U2 frontman and founder of the anti-poverty campaign One.
"If there's one thing I would like you to take away from this testimony, it is that aid in 2016 is not charity. It is national security," he told lawmakers.
"And when it's structured properly with a hard focus on fighting corruption and improving governance to qualify for that aid, it could be the best bulwark we have against violent extremism gaining traction."
Bono — who visited Kenya, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt as part of a US congressional delegation led by Senator Lindsey Graham — warned that refugee crises like the one triggered by fighting in Syria typically last for 25 years.
And he said that without a coordinated global response, the Middle East, Africa and now increasingly Europe would face the type of chaos that allows extremist groups to find willing recruits among desperate young people.
"Of the top ten countries that are hosting refugees today, five of them are African. In Europe, the problem has moved from practical to existential," he said.
"Let me soberly suggest to you that the integration of Europe, the very idea of European unity, is at risk here," he said, echoing the private view of many US foreign policy officials.
"Europe is America's most important ally since the Second World War. Are we not your most important ally in the fight against violent extremism?
"This should really matter to you. I know it does. Put simply, as we Europeans have learned, if the Middle East catches fire, the flames jump any border controls. And if Africa fails, Europe cannot succeed."
The United States is leading a coalition of western and Arab allies to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
And, with Russia, Washington has spearheaded an international diplomatic effort to end the broader civil war in Syria through a negotiated political settlement.
But President Barack Obama's administration has faced criticism for its late and slow response to the Syria refugee crisis. — AFP