Secretary of State John Kerry told an audience at the University of Virginia Wednesday that Americans must invest more in foreign aid and diplomacy in order to protect U.S. security and cultivate prosperity. "Deploying diplomats today is much cheaper than deploying troops tomorrow," he said in his first major address since taking office three weeks ago. "Foreign assistance is not a giveaway. It’s not charity. It is an investment in a strong America and free world." The former Massachusetts senator, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, said 11 of the top 15 U.S. trading partners used to take foreign aid. "That's because our goal isn't to keep a nation dependent on us forever. It’s precisely to create these markets, to open these opportunities, to establish rule of law," he said. "Our goal is to use assistance and development to help nations realize their own potential … and become our economic partners."
