Wednesday, February 05, 2025

OpEd: USAID agency shut down, robbing the poor as usual

To read the vilification of USAID by the Trump administration, you'd think it was a terrorist organization. It isn't. Please note that there's so much information available about this situation that I've just linked it to the headlines. Otherwise, this article would be a book.

Comments

More from the OpEd ...

... The USAID site appears to have been shut down. (That link is to a 404.) There are various tales about the workforce being told to stay home. It looks like a real mess.

Meanwhile, Marco Rubio says he's running this agency, which has no presence at all. Folksy, huh?

USAID is one of the biggest aid organizations in the world, managing about half of US aid. It was created under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as the governing agency. JFK gave the executive order for its establishment.

USAID has never previously been considered an ideological issue by anyone. It's a provider of aid to alleviate poverty and socioeconomic development all over the world. This dates from the time when America wasn't run by petty-minded peasants. You'll note the flag says "From the American people". Presumably that was from the time when people could afford to be Americans.

Foreign aid is a major bugbear for the administration. IT's an easy target for illiterate xenophobia. Trump is said to be considering merging it with the State Department. Presumably, neither agency has enough work. The State Department will certainly have a lot less work given the Trump administration's apparently preferred hostile relationships with other countries

Musk said it's run by "radical lunatics". There's a claim the funds are used to support terrorist organizations. Says the country that funded various South American dictatorships, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-02-05 12:32 AM

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