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I think the US should lead the search for a cure. I don't think trying to save those with AIDS is going to get us anywhere. I haven't read about where this $15 billion is going, so I shouldn't come out in support of it.



It going to smaller countries (Carribean, African, SE Asia)that are primarily major US trading partners (major for their size anyhow), subscribe to teach Bush's Abstinence Program, and they must buy only US prescription medication.

It is primarily money for treatment, not money for cure. But the money comes right back to bolster US pharmaceutical companies.

The big fuss currently is that the US refuses to give money to a larger Global Fund that is distributedd to 120-some-odd nations. In the past the US has given 1-4B a year, but this year we aren't giving anything in favor of Bush's new plan to give $3B/year to a select group of nations that meet our requirements. Next year Bush is giving $200M to the Global Fund in addition to his ongoing plan -- still more than anyone else.

While I understand the UN's problem with the rules -- you can treat 5 people on generics for the price of treating 1 person on US drugs -- if we give twice as much as the rest of the world combined, a little say in how its' spent isn't too much to ask for.

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