Water treatment plant in Ramadi, Iraq | Photo by Jeremy M. Giacomino, U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons
Part XLI of the “Geopolitics” Series
This columnist discussed “Funding Reconstruction and Abraham Squares in the Middle East” on October 25, 2023.
The article also discussed the feasibility of reinventing American economic aid and military assistance (EA&MA) to friendly countries. It said, “from the viewpoint of economic and military aid, the Philippines receives anywhere from $ 75 million to $175-million per year from the United States. The amount is peanuts, if compared to countries like Israel and Jordan. American aid to the Kingdom of Jordan totaled $3.59-billion (spelled with a B) from 2001-2005. Jordan received also in American aid $1.36-billion from 1996 to 2000, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Israel of course receives anywhere from $7.0-billion to $9.0-billion (also spelled with a B) per year, principally because of the extremely-effective American-Jewish Lobby and the fact that the Holocaust continues to touch the hearts of many Americans.”
This column suggested, likewise, that in 2020, “the United States should stop giving foreign countries EA&MA. Instead, use the exact amounts as investments in the original country recipients where the EA&MA were supposed to be donated — per legislation approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the POTUS.”
The proposed “Abraham Squares” had been ventilated earlier in this series as an interfaith way to build cooperation by doing collectively agricultural, commercial, and industrial ventures by Middle-Eastern countries, including Israel. The experiences can ideally be done as a public-private partnership.
The idea also calls for four desalination plants as investments in projects in the Middle East. These plants would provide potable water for drinking, washing, and other personal hygiene needs in a short, feasible time.
This process usually provides fresh water for drinking, household consumption, and industrial or agricultural uses. The cost of a desalination plant depends on its size and the type of technology used. A small plant costs around $1 million, and a large plant costs around $25 million.
The proposed desalination plants can augment the water supply, making the Negev Desert of Israel greener and starting to green the Sinai Desert of Egypt.
By this Sunday, this column will discuss how the “reinvented” EA&MA can prevent extrajudicial killings in the recipient countries, eliminate corruption, bring to justice local government-sanctioned killers, including conniving corrupt officials, and secure universal healthcare. This column has proposed 50 medical centers in 50 strategic locations worldwide. All of these suggested projects can be done in a Kamala Harris administration.
