Poverty linked to terrorism, US congressman says

Fighting poverty is a key weapon in the global war against terrorism, a congressional US aid delegation to Ethiopia said on Thursday. "I think we should be careful in how far we go in saying poverty leads directly to terrorist attacks, but clearly it provides a breeding ground in which terrorist groups can find fertile soil," senior congressman Jim Kolbe told a press conference in Addis Ababa. "So alleviating poverty, helping to increase the standard of living in a country, is important," said Kolbe, who sits on a counter-terrorism committee. "Escaping poverty itself is not necessarily the answer, there are other driving forces behind terrorism, but certainly it is one of the things we need to do." Although the visiting congressional delegation will focus on health and education, its members said they would thank Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for Ethiopia's help in fighting terrorists and providing intelligence. "Ethiopia has been very much at the forefront of the fight against terrorism and we are very grateful for the support it has given to the American people after the terrible events of September 11th," Kolbe said. "We are very grateful for the support Ethiopia has given in all of our efforts, gathering intelligence about Al-Qaeda and other terrorist movements." Fellow congressman Dan Miller said the US had learnt in the aftermath of September 11th that it needs to "share its wealth among friendly countries like Ethiopia". During the official one-day visit, Congressman Kolbe also said the brain drain from Ethiopia had robbed the country of its talent, and education had to be a priority. "One would hope that conditions will be such in this country that the people will want to and be able to return to this country and there will be opportunities for them to do so," he said. "We regard Ethiopia as a very good development partner...In all cases it seems to me the taxpayers of America are being very well served," added Kolbe, who also heads the Foreign Operations Subcommittee which funds most of America’s overseas aid. Ethiopia receives more than US $130 million in aid and the United States is planning to increase it. Congressman Kolbe, who was on his first visit to Ethiopia, said America, would continue with its controversial programme of not sourcing food locally. "Since we are providing the funds and providing the commodities, our first obligation should be to buy those commodities from the United States and send them to the country that is being assisted with the food programme," he said. The delegation is touring five African countries including Ethiopia, Mali, Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa.