Sam Gejdenson: “I cannot help but respond to my colleague's comments. While I think he is well-intentioned, there are some issues that I…”

“I cannot help but respond to my colleague's comments. While I think he is well-intentioned, there are some issues that I think have to be addressed. The United States, at the end of World War II, spent $16 billion in 1950's dollars in western Europe because we understood that while the best avenue may be the private-sector initiatives and other issues at hand, the reality was that without that economic assistance, there was a danger that western Europe would destabilize and that much of it would be taken over by Soviet influence. We recognized that short-term expenditure was the right thing to do for human rights, for economic opportunity, for political rights. I think to say that that model only worked about one time in history frankly does not meet the historical test. If we take a look at the countries that are our biggest purchasers of grain products today, they are many of the countries that started off under a PL-480 program.”