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WASHINGTON (AP) - 12.17.01 | An official in British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government failed to win the backing of the Bush administration in an effort to launch a new Marshall Plan to help the world's poorest nations. Gordon Brown, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, discussed the proposal in a meeting Monday with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in O'Neill's office. In a statement, the U.S. Treasury said that O'Neill and Brown both shared a deep concern over the plight of the world's poor. O'Neill, however, ``would like to see evidence of what works before making new commitments'' on the part of the United States, the statement said. Brown wants rich countries including the United States and Britain double the aid they give the world's poor nations to $100 billion annually as part of an effort to cut world poverty in half by 2015. Brown has said the program is modeled after the U.S. Marshall Plan, the successful plan advanced by George C. Marshall, secretary of state in the Truman administration, to provide American assistance to help rebuild Europe following World War II. Brown's effort is intended to address the growing gap between wealthy and poor countries, a disparity that many feel is fueling political tensions and terrorism. Brown first raised his proposal during meetings sponsored by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Ottawa, Canada, last month. Source: http://www.truthout.com/12.20F.Bush.no.Blair.htm
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