Kerry: Corruption ‘Destroys Faith’ in Authority, Leads to Extremism by Carol Morello, Washington Post
Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Friday that progress has been made in combating the Islamic State and violent extremism, and called fighting government corruption an integral part of the battle.
“Corruption is a radicalizer because it destroys faith in legitimate authority,” he said in a wide-ranging speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It allows the predators to move in. And no one knows that better than violent extremist groups, who regularly use corruption as a recruitment tool.”
Though much of his speech focused on the destabilizing influence of government malfeasance, Kerry also used the annual forum before corporate executives and world leaders to announce that the United States will push for a 30 percent increase in international humanitarian aid to refugees and the displaced, up to $13 billion this year. Washington hopes to get at least 10 new nations to commit to regular contributions to refugee aid.
But the bulk of his remarks were devoted to the national security implications of government corruption, a phenomenon he said robs the global economy of $2.6 trillion a year. He cited corruption in countries as diverse as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Nigeria as causing civil unrest that ballooned into international crises…
Comments
"Corruption Destroys Faith in Authority." That is so correct. Here at home there are probably millions of Vietnam Vets, with long memories, who have neither faith in nor respect for the Secretary of State. His activities, then and now, were considered somewhat extreme (like Jane meeting with the enemy).