Condition for Aid: Eliminate Corruption

Bush told Mongolia's Eagle Television that American aid depends on the Mongolian Government's cleaning up its act:

President George W. Bush warned Mongolia that there "should be no corruption in government," if it wanted to receive American aid."

I will say on your TV screens, there should be no corruption in government, that one of the foundations of any government is the ability for the people to trust the government, itself," the president told Mongolia's Eagle television....

"A foundation of our foreign policy, and a foundation of our Millennium Challenge Account is that there be honest government," the president added.

"On the other hand, we will insist that as a condition of the Millennium Challenge checks being written that there be honest government, that there be investment in health and education of the people, that there be a dedication to rule of law and to the marketplace," he pointed out.

Millennium Challenge Accounts have been created by the Bush administration as part of reform of US foreign aid programs.

I don't know how much a televised call to clean up government will be, even if it's issued by America's president and is backed with a threat to withhold aid. Ultimately, the only way to clean up government is to clean up people. Still, though, the more light on the subject, the better.