The United States Institute of Peace: It's time for Greater Funding, not Less

Conceived during the Carter administration and signed into existence by Ronald Reagan in 1984, the United States Institute is one of our nation's finest investments of taxpayer dollars. Below are some excerpts from the Institute's website.  You can click on the items in blue to get more information, or go visit the entire yourself at: http://www.usip.org/

Who We Are ?

USIP is our country's global conflict management center. Created by Congress to be independent and nonpartisan, we work to prevent, mitigate and resolve international conflict without resorting to violence.

Read more about our work in the field

 

Solving Real Problems in Difficult Places

Through analysis, action and evaluation, USIP trains peacebuilders in the U.S. and around the world.

Read how we work to:

• Save lives
• Increase the government's ability to deal with conflicts
• Reduce government costs
• Enhance national security

Working in Conflict

USIP experts are on the ground, actively engaged in global conflict management.

Read about our work in:

• Afghanistan
• Iraq
• Libya
• Pakistan
• The Two Sudans

Budget Woes

Of course in this new period of budget austerity, the USIP is endangered.  As reported in Wikipedia, the case for the Institute was eloquently made by former U.S. Central Command Commander Anthony Zinni  who wrote an op-ed, published in The New York Times March 7, 2011, in support of USIP. "Congress would be hard-pressed to find an agency that does more with less. The institute’s entire budget would not pay for the Afghan war for three hours, is less than the cost of a fighter plane, and wouldn’t sustain even 40 American troops in Afghanistan for a year. Within the budget, peace-building is financed as part of national security programs, and is recognized as an important adjunct to conventional defense spending and diplomacy. The institute’s share of the proposed international affairs budget, $43 million, is minuscule: less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the State Department’s budget, and one-hundredth of 1 percent of the Pentagon’s."

Zinni wrote after the House of Representatives had voted in February 2011to zero out USIP's budget for  the fiscal year. Subsequently funds were restored, but at a total of $39.5, a 20 percent reduction from the fiscal year 2010 level of $49.2 million. (For more details see: http://www.usip.org/publications/statement-usip-budget.

Friends, the United States Institute of Peace should be receiving more funding, not less. As military budgets are finally beginning to be cut, we must invest in peaceful approaches to increasing our security.   The USIP is a brilliant initiative worthy of your full support as you lobby your congressional representatives regarding spending priorities.