than one percent of the total annual federal budget . 37 Understanding and incorporating the more qualitative points about development and peacebuilding is far more important than setting any particular dollar value .
Most of all , successful reconstruction requires time and it requires a view towards peace as much as a view away from war . Implementing this also suggests the need for a change in how the United States monitors and evaluates ( M & E ) programming . Currently , M & E efforts tend to be geared towards quantifiable outputs that can easily be seen and counted . The above argument , however , suggests that this type of measurement can be simultaneously completely accurate and completely irrelevant , since it is the quality of relationships , not the presence of institutions , which ultimately counts most .
Planning , supporting and building a peaceful civil society is hardly idealistic work , although ironically it is often thought to be . Rather it is hard , grinding work that requires a firm and realistic grasp of the challenges that face broken and warring societies . Funding of development and diplomatic initiatives needs to be equal to military and security ; but more accurately , the U . S . should prioritize , balance and target resources based on a thorough grasp of the realistic reconstruction needs as construed by the local population .
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