by Steve Bonta

About the author: Steve Bonta is a writer for the New American, a biweekly conservative magazine.

America sends billions of taxpayer dollars overseas in the form of foreign aid. Yet more often than not the money ends up aiding oppressive regimes and our nation’s enemies.

On May 17th [2001], Secretary of State Colin Powell announced a new $43 million aid package for Afghanistan. “We will continue to look for ways to provide more assistance for Afghans,” Powell said, “including those farmers who have felt the impact of the [Taliban-imposed] ban on poppy cultivation.” The new aid package, Powell continued, brought the year-to-date total U.S. aid to Afghanistan to more than $124 million, making the United States the world’s...