tony blair, live 8, africa

efforts to address the rather dire situation in africa by tony blair and even live 8 are commendable. however, the history of the results of aid efforts remains troubling. the amount of corruption boggles the mind.

an anti-corruption commission discovered $220 billion in Nigeria alone

The stolen fortune tallies almost exactly with the £220 billion of western aid given to Africa between 1960 and 1997. That amounted to six times the American help given to post-war Europe under the Marshall Plan. [italics added]

the scale of corruption led to measures to better monitor aid and recover money already stolen.

similarly, the effectiveness of the well-intentioned 1985 live aid can be questioned.

jacob weisberg over at slate examines the proposed actions (debt forgiveness, trade and more aid) with a skeptical eye. weisberg favors trade tweaks and programs similar to president bush's Millennium Challenge Account (with better execution necesary).