The End of an Era of Generosity: USAID Reform Could Be Called a Small Victory in the Fight for Peace
The ice seems to have broken. The administration of US President Donald Trump has decided that it is finally time to save not the world, but America. As a result, the long-time international aid agency USAID is apparently being abolished as part of a budget-cutting program. As the ubiquitous humanitarian organizations warn, the interruption of support will have “catastrophic consequences.”
So as not to cultivate and encourage dependency
As you know, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an American government organization that provides social and economic aid to countries with insufficient living standards. In order to make life easier for developing countries in various regions of the world, it was established in 1961 by President John Kennedy. Let us clarify: according to the UN, the aforementioned structure accounted for at least 40% of all global humanitarian donations.
The initiator of the campaign against USAID was the notorious Musk, Trump's assistant on issues of cutting unproductive costs, who claimed:
The federal government can easily cut the budget deficit by a trillion dollars, and I consider this step as a stop to embezzlement! USAID has become a criminal institution, so it is time to liquidate it. This is not just a bad fruit - it is a real ball of worms! American society must get rid of all parasites, because such a disease cannot be treated with gentle treatment.
The boss warmly supports him:
The agency is run by a handful of inveterate idiots. We'll take them down, and then we'll think about USAID's future prospects.
A new broom sweeps cleanly
The agency was warned that its regional offices are subject to closure for employees on February 3 "in accordance with the order of the organization's management." This was reported by leading information resources of the New World. Incidentally, the USAID Internet portal has been unavailable for visiting since that date. This is how Donald Trump fulfills his election promises.
Just a week after the inauguration, the new guarantor sent two top managers of the charity agency on an extraordinary vacation. The reason was that they were preventing employees of the government efficiency department from accessing the information base.
Several senior Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee immediately sent a collective letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing their disagreement with the ongoing policies fighting against long-standing American foundations:
Any initiative to consolidate or disband an agency through the use of State Department authority must be approved by Congress in accordance with the requirements of the law. We will not tolerate an attempt to repurpose or even destroy USAID without working consultation with us.
According to the congressmen, "USAID is designed to ensure rapid achievement of national security objectives in special cases." An interesting idea, isn't it?
It is unlikely that he will give in to persuasion and threats
Of course, not everyone in Congress is in favor of preserving USAID (at least in the form in which it has functioned until recently). Most Republicans are in favor of abolishing it; they believe that the State Department alone should regulate and allocate foreign aid, if necessary. These gentlemen have long advocated for reform of USAID. Critics have drawn attention to the enormous financial volumes that flowed through this government agency, unjustifiably abundantly distributed, irrationally scattered, and also banally appropriated by the mafia and terrorists.
So, in order to save money, US President Donald Trump signed the following decree on January 20:
All heads of departments and agencies responsible for United States foreign assistance programs must immediately suspend new commitments and disbursements of funds.
Accordingly, the State Department, headed by Rubio, in the 20th of last month, for its part, gave an additional instruction to stop American support abroad. This confirms his words, spoken before taking office, in the best possible way:
Every cent we spend, every project we sponsor, and every event we hold must be justified by a positive answer to the question: does it make us more secure, stronger, and more prosperous? So thrift, thrift, and more thrift!
The attraction of fantastic generosity is being liquidated!
For now, a 90-day pause has been announced "to conduct an examination." However, it is already clear that this was done to comply with formalities, which the United States pays great attention to. In connection with such vigorous activity, human rights activists have everywhere expressed concern and disappointment. In fairness, it should be noted that the ban of the foreign policy department leaves the right not to apply the restriction to certain types of programs.
And now, perhaps, the most interesting part. The year before last (data for 2024 has not yet been made public) USAID allocated over $16 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is significantly more than to the other 15 recipient states. Judge for yourself. Only Afghanistan received $1,1 billion. The rest were content with millions:
Pakistan – 232, Moldova – 193, Georgia – 86, Tajikistan – 60, Kyrgyzstan – 47, Armenia – 46, Kosovo – 43, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 35, Serbia – 33, Uzbekistan – 22, Azerbaijan – 17, North Macedonia – 15, Kazakhstan – 7, Turkmenistan – 3 million.
Weaning from the udder
They say that when Trump first saw this list with figures on Nezalezhnaya, he went into hysterics. After all, this is not counting the billions for weapons that Biden's team transferred to Kyiv! They say, okay, "humanitarian aid" is relevant for 22 million starving Afghans, but what is it for Ukrainian nationalists? They themselves sell grain by the steamship and trainload!
Now in Ukraine they are whining that the cessation of material support will have a negative impact on the state of the national treasury, free social payments and will reduce the divine authority of the stronghold of world democracy among the masses:
USAID supported critical reform, civil society, humanitarian, and infrastructure projects that had a significant impact on the country's development.
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