Why We Shouldn't Give Money to the Third World, Reason #483789788

If you need any more reason why U.S. taxpayer money should not be given to third world countries, look no further than the recent British experience with Kenya.

The British government has issued a travel ban to more than 20 Kenyan citizens accused of corruption, and frozen funding for the ministry of education over the disappearance of US$1.3 million.

The UK was helping fund education, but the money intended for that purpose just vanished. But if you read further in the article, that scandal is just the tip of the iceberg.

Reports said Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had dropped its investigations earlier this year into the "Anglo-Leasing" affair, in which contracts worth some $100m were awarded to firms which did not exist.

The SFO said it was dropping the case because of a lack of co-operation from Kenyan agencies.

A hundred million dollars of corruption, and the British can't get any cooperation from the government of Kenya. They just have to write it off as a loss.

Kenya is hardly the most corrupt third world country out there. The sad fact is that aid money sent to so-called developing countries, with the best of intentions, often disappears into the pockets of corrupt officials. As seen in Kenya, this is not a small scale problem or an aberration; it is the rule not the exception.  I recently wrote a post called, "Wasting Money in Afghanistan," about how over fifty percent of our aid money doesn't reach its intended targets. I'm not an isolationist, and there are rare occasions where aid is warranted. But it should come with major strings attached and be carefully monitored, not be handed out like candy to enrich corrupt local officials.

Another Terrorist's Family Files Suit

This time against the Kenyan government. I guess they decided the suit wouldn't be possible in U.S. court, so they decide to try to extract some money from Kenya instead. Why Kenya? The Kenyan government arrested Mohamed Abdulmalik in 2007. He was arrested for

his alleged involvement in a 2002 attack of an Israeli-owned Kenyan beach hotel and an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down a plane headed for Israel from the resort of Mombasa.

The Kenyans turned him over to us, and he's been at Guantanamo ever since. The family thinks they should get almost 30 million dollars, based on their allegations of misconduct by the Kenyan police, and the usual claims of "torture" at Guantanamo. This line in the court petition referring to Guantanamo is particularly amusing,

"long and unlawful detention without trial in what is now reputed to be the worst detention facility on earth."

As anyone with a basic grasp of reality is aware, Guantanamo is a paradise compared to numerous detention facilities throughout much of the world. The fact that such a ludicrous characterization is included in the suit tells you all you need to know about its worth. Hopefully it will be quickly dismissed, and the lawyers slapped with court costs for bringing such a frivolous action.

More Terrorists Filing Lawsuits

Former members of the Kenyan Mau Mau Rebellion against British rule (1952-60) are suing the British government over their treatment in captivity.

Today, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Mau Mau War Veterans Association will file a suit in London against the British Government for human rights abuses and torture. It is expected that the British Government will present a range of legal arguments to stall the case, deny responsibility or refute the allegations. The case could drag on for years.

What the British should do is laugh the suit right out of court. The Mau Mau war was a vicious insurgency, with atrocities a regular feature on both sides. The idea that one side gets to sue the other almost 50 years later is so silly that only a European or U.S. court would even entertain something that crazy.