Although warned, Ken, I plunge in anyway.

USAID isn't the agency it was some time ago when it was just AID. Contracts officers run the place now, auditors have stifled innovation with fear, and too many capable technical officers -- the folks on the front line -- retired in disgust.

George Rupp's point of view is apt if the armed conflict hasn't started yet. But the same attitude, when tossed into Phase IV operations, stands stammering and helpless. Humanitarian aid is not the answer to every situation, just as bullets aren't.