[John Major] ...says fighting poverty can beat terror

From Pittsburgh Live

By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Industrial nations must fight world poverty if they want to win the war on terror, says Britain's former Prime Minister John Major.

"That campaign needs to reach out far beyond military and security activities alone," Major said to applause during a speech Wednesday night at Heinz Hall, Downtown.

His appearance was part of the Pittsburgh Speaker Series sponsored by Robert Morris University.

Major, 62, a member of Britain's Conservative Party, said half of the world's 6 billion people live on less than $2 a day.

"That 6 billion population will be 8 billion in 25 years, and 97 percent of the extra 2 billion will be in that part of the world that lives on $2 a day," he said during an earlier speech at Robert Morris in Moon. "Is the world safe or less safe if five-eighths of the world lives in relative poverty while you live in relative affluence?"

Major urged industrial nations to meet the target they set at the United Nations 25 years ago. That goal was giving 0.7 percent of the total value of their goods and services in foreign aid every year. The United States gives 0.3 percent and Europe a little more.

The total value of all foreign aid by industrial nations totals $50 billion a year. In contrast, Major said, the United States and Europe spend $350 billion a year to subsidize cheap food for well-fed people in those countries.

To defeat terrorists, Major said, the world must deny them their safe havens and their causes, stem the flow of their recruits, attack their money laundering and reduce their supply of weapons.

"We must fight for the hearts and minds of those into whose ears radical poison is poured," he said.

As prime minister from 1990-97, Major helped build the strongest British economy in decades. He also helped to secure a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

Elected to Parliament in 1979, he joined the Cabinet as chief secretary to the treasury in 1987. Major went on to serve as foreign secretary and chancellor of the exchequer before becoming prime minister.

Major left Parliament in 2001 and has served as adviser to various businesses and charities, including the Consortium for Street Children.

Brandishing a Terrible Towel, the former world leader boasted of his ties to Pittsburgh. His grandfather helped build the Carnegie Steel Works in the 19th century, and his father lived in Braddock in the early 20th century.

For those perplexed by the math, Major explained: "When I was born, my father was 65, and my mother was surprised."