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UK aid supplies lost to Somali militants

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cenydd
Reporter

Posts: 525
Politics: Liberal

UK aid supplies lost to Somali militants Aug 12, 2013 10:40:22 GMT

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Post by cenydd on Aug 12, 2013 10:40:22 GMT

Humanitarian aid supplies worth £480,000 - funded by UK taxpayers - were seized by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia, it has emerged.

Supplies were in warehouses captured in a raid by al-Shabab in November 2011, the Department for International Development's (DfID) accounts reveal.

DfID would not specify what those supplies included. It said all material was destroyed in the raid or later.

A DfID spokesman said working in "fragile states carries inherent risk".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23653789

Minimising losses should be a priority, of course, but there is always some risk in trying to help people in this kind of situation. That doesn't mean that it's too great a risk to take, or that it's not worth taking it. Although one batch of supplies has been lost, lots of other supplies have got through, and that is saving lives - for me that makes it worthwhile even if if doesn't always go to plan.

A liberal’s disagreement with a socialist or social democrat comes down to this: we both seek equality, but the only equality a liberal thinks is worth striving for is an equality of freedom. A liberal’s disagreement with conservatives comes down to this: we both seek freedom, but a liberal believes no one can achieve it alone. There is such a thing as society, and government’s purpose is to shape a society in which individual freedom can flourish. (Michael Ignatieff)

ShivaTD
Essayist

Posts: 2,969

Politics: Libertarian

UK aid supplies lost to Somali militants Sept 5, 2013 12:30:46 GMT

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Post by ShivaTD on Sept 5, 2013 12:30:46 GMT

My only objection is that taxpayers funded the foreign aid. I'm sure there are people in the UK that need assistance just like there are people in the US that need assistance and if anyone is to be helped by the government then it should be the people of the nation itself.

At the same time we, as individuals, should be compassionate with the plight of any people that need assistance. We can privately donate to help those in other countries that are in need of assistance. That is our "personal responsibility" but that is not a responsibility of our government. There are numerous ways that we can personally do this. Our government is about our nation and not other nations. So long as one person is going hungry in our nation that is a concern for our government. If the government wants to help someone then it needs to help the citizens of the nation it has authority over.

Last Edit: Sept 5, 2013 12:32:33 GMT by ShivaTD

You give a pothead marijuana with nothing to smoke out of and suddenly they become engineers.