Water issues are critical to U.S. national security and integral to upholding American values of humanitarianism and democratic development. Moreover, engagement with international water issues guarantees business opportunities for the U.S. private sector, which is well positioned to contribute to development and reap economic reward.

The regions of the world critical to U.S. foreign strategy—South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa—are the same regions that face the most acute water shortages. Former Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D., has often remarked that “Water is a currency for peace.” To that end, achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives—developing democracy around the globe and ensuring peace and stability at home and abroad—are directly tied to the basic necessity of ensuring the availability of clean, safe drinking water and of basic sanitation facilities. As the recent tsunami disaster demonstrated, U.S. leadership can stimulate a heightened global response. Directing U.S. attention toward water issues will translate into goodwill and political capital, as well as an improved perception of the United States abroad.

Current U.S. foreign policy on water has been gaining momentum since the beginning of the George W. Bush administration, but it remains notably ad hoc and lacks clear strategic vision and strong leadership in government. Since the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, addressing international water issues has been formally elevated as a strategic foreign policy priority of the United States. Still, the elevation of U.S. commitment falls short of true engagement with the worsening situation. To meet the challenges of the coming decades of increasing water stress and growing lack of access, the United States must make good on recent pledges to establish a national strategy on the challenge. The United States must also greatly increase its aid toward water issues and lead others around the world—developed and developing countries alike—to join in the newfound determination to face the problem proactively.

In his inaugural address, President Obama acknowledged the power of water as he stated, "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."  He also called the U.S. and other developed countries to action as he declared, "[W]e can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.  For the world has changed, and we must change with it." 

Following these sentiments, the President and his administration should launch a far-sighted initiative on water, which can promote U.S. interests, strengthen U.S. leadership, and help address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.