I hate to be so negative all the time

And when I saw this story, "16 nations to benefit from new US foreign aid programme," I clicked on it and thought, "Well, maybe I'll actually have something good to say about Bush for once." And while it's not all bad, it's not all I hoped, because it seems like Bush is telling nations to bend over before they receive aid from us.

The Millennium Challenge Account encourages all poor nations to embrace political and economic reform. The US has pledged to increase its core development assistance by half, adding $5 billion annually by 2006.

To be eligible, nations must root out corruption, respect human rights, and adhere to the rule of law. They must invest in their people by improving their health care systems and their schools.

They must unleash the energy and creativity necessary for economic growth by opening up their markets, removing barriers to entrepreneurship, and reducing excessive bureaucracy and regulation.

Opening up their markets? Removing barriers to enterpreneurship? Is this code language for privatizing resources like water distribution?

And not to be a dick, but we're offering 16 developing nations $5 billion when Bush doesn't bat an eyelash after asking Congress for another $25 billion to wage war in Iraq?