In 2016 alone, there have been 989 terrorist attacks worldwide, resulting in approximately 8,366 deaths. In light of recent attacks in Normandy, Munich, Nice and Brussels by ISIS militants and sympathizers, I am tempted to ask myself: How did this get so bad? When will it stop? And could we — the United States — have prevented these attacks?

According to Robert Gates, former U.S. defense secretary from ’06 to ’11, the answer to national and foreign security may lie in U.S. foreign assistance. In fact, Gates noted that aid given to dangerous regions “contributes to stability … [and] better governance” in those regions, making it difficult for terrorist organizations to form and spread. It is not merely coincidental that the three most dangerous countries in the world (Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan) are also some of the poorest. This is not to say that poverty necessarily leads to violence, yet that poverty and corruption together often create weak and vulnerable states, which can serve as breeding grounds for terrorist uprisings.

So, what now?

National campaigns driven by organizations like The Borgen Project, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to making global poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy, are working to create a safer world. Increasing U.S. foreign aid alone may not produce complete international peace, but it’s a good place to start.

Abigail R. Szkutak

Bellevue