Fear, pain and hunger: The dire impact of shutting down USAID in Africa, leaving a vacuum for China and Russia

[Bradskii]

Impoverished countries have nothing to offer China. They have nothing to offer anyone, they just need help.

So let me get this straight if I can. You don't want to help the poor and the needy because there's nothing in it for you.

 

[Landon Caeli]

So let me get this straight if I can. You don't want to help the poor and the needy because there's nothing in it for you.

No, I want everyone to chip in. Including Russia and China. And I want to put international pressure on them, by withdrawing for a period of time, to make that happen.

 

[iluvatar5150]

A few years ago China built hundreds of miles of heavy truck capable highway in Kenya from the seaport at Mombasa up to the lakes region. They put a lot of money into the Kenyan economy to build a road useful to Kenya and trained a lot of Kenyans in heavy equipment operation and other things that will help them build their own roads. What did the Chinese get out of it? A road to efficiently transport the rare earth ores they are buying in central Africa from a friendly local government. I was there, I saw it happening. We could have done it, but we didn't.

Trump has been moaning about Panama’s participation with China’s Belt-and-Road initiative and now Musky is making it easier for them to make inroads in Africa.

 

[Bradskii]

No, I want everyone to chip in. Including Russia and China. And I want to put international pressure on them, by withdrawing for a period of time, to make that happen.

'If you don't help these people then I'm going to make them suffer.'

Yeah, that'll teach 'em. I can see that you've worked in diplomacy at some point.

What a country spends on foreign aid is best expressed as a percentage of Gross National Income. See here: List of development aid sovereign state donors - Wikipedia

The GNI for Australia is 0.22, about the same as Canada and the USA. What's China's GNI? You wouldn't have known and you haven't checked. It's 0.36. Over 50% more than you.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Iran praises US for cutting foreign aid funding​

The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country's Shiite theocracy — pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of U.S. government's efforts to help democracy worldwide.

Newspapers, like the conservative Hamshhari daily, described Iran's opposition as “counterrevolutionaries” who had been “celebrating" Trump's election as heralding the "last days of life of the Islamic Republic.”

They then "suddenly faced the surprise of cut funding from their employer,” the newspaper crowed.

In 2024, the Biden administration requested $65 million for [the U.S. State Department's Near East Regional Democracy fund] after over $600 million had been appropriated by Congress for the fund, according to the Congressional Research Service. That money and other funding had gone in the past toward training journalists and activists on how to report on human rights abuses, funding access to the internet amid government shutdowns and other issues. [I gather not all of it goes to Iran, but some of it does.]

 

[Pommer]

Iran praises US for cutting foreign aid funding​

The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country's Shiite theocracy — pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of U.S. government's efforts to help democracy worldwide.

Newspapers, like the conservative Hamshhari daily, described Iran's opposition as “counterrevolutionaries” who had been “celebrating" Trump's election as heralding the "last days of life of the Islamic Republic.”

They then "suddenly faced the surprise of cut funding from their employer,” the newspaper crowed.

In 2024, the Biden administration requested $65 million for [the U.S. State Department's Near East Regional Democracy fund] after over $600 million had been appropriated by Congress for the fund, according to the Congressional Research Service. That money and other funding had gone in the past toward training journalists and activists on how to report on human rights abuses, funding access to the internet amid government shutdowns and other issues. [I gather not all of it goes to Iran, but some of it does.]

Even our adversaries think it’s a great idea!

 

[Landon Caeli]

Even our adversaries think it’s a great idea!

Iran better say that. If they don't say they love everything we're doing, Trump’s going to give them a good slapdown.

 

[essentialsaltes]

USAID buys American when it fills those sacks of rice and lentils and flour "from the American people".

In 2020, the U.S. government bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers.

Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday.

At least we can get rid of those wasteful subsidies for farms that just can't make it in the free market.

 

[essentialsaltes]

And as for the employee leeches in the 'criminal' USAID organization...

Recall of USAID’s global workforce causes havoc and distress​

Employees stationed overseas are struggling to navigate the sudden upheaval, having received little clear information from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration’s abrupt decision to repatriate the U.S. Agency for International Development’s overseas workforce has thrust the agency’s global staff into chaos and despair, as workers scramble to uproot their lives and brace for what they fear will be a shutdown of all American aid missions in 30 days.

In interviews, USAID staffers said Tuesday’s recall order has sent them racing to make temporary housing arrangements back in the United States, identify new day cares or schools for their children, and plan for a future in which, as many now believe is inevitable, they are left unemployed.

“You find yourself in a foreign country, in all likelihood a place you moved to despite the terrorism or security risks, and you’re being treated as if you’re somehow an enemy of the state,” one USAID official told The Washington Post. “That’s not even the worst of it. You know that your career matters far less than the lives of those you were trying to help, and … a lot of them are going to die without American aid.”

Decreasing the surplus population is the first step in getting these countries to live within their means.

 

[Pommer]

USAID buys American when it fills those sacks of rice and lentils and flour "from the American people".

View attachment 360771

In 2020, the U.S. government bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers.

Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday.

At least we can get rid of those wasteful subsidies for farms that just can't make it in the free market.

Who knew International Aid was so complicated!.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending​

Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.

Titled “At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep,” the news release claimed USAID “has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight.”

The news release then listed 12 examples, plucked from the websites of right-wing media. But the numbers cited — as low as $32,000 — hardly justify the claim that these are “massive sums” of money. In fact, they are so low that some of the funds appear to have been awarded at the ambassador level, without Washington involvement. At least one dated from the first Trump administration, and some were actually State Department grants, not USAID.

“$70,000 for production of a ‘DEI musical’ in Ireland”
This is wrong. This was a State Department grant, not USAID. In 2022, the U.S. ambassador hosted an event featuring Grammy-winning folk duo Francesco Turrisi and Rhiannon Giddens, along with other Irish and American musicians.

“$47,000 for a ‘transgender opera’ in Colombia”
This is wrong. USAID did not fund this.

“$32,000 for a ‘transgender comic book’ in Peru”
This is wrong. USAID did not fund this

 

[essentialsaltes]

Judge to pause Trump administration effort to gut USAID's workforce by thousands​

A federal judge on Friday said he will pause a midnight deadline for the U.S. Agency for International Development to be stripped down to a few hundred workers from a workforce of more than 5,000.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump's efforts "exceed presidential authority and usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution," violating the separation of powers.

 

[Bradskii]

Judge to pause Trump administration effort to gut USAID's workforce by thousands​

A federal judge on Friday said he will pause a midnight deadline for the U.S. Agency for International Development to be stripped down to a few hundred workers from a workforce of more than 5,000.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump's efforts "exceed presidential authority and usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution," violating the separation of powers.

Which has prompted me to poke around looking for information as to whether a president can ignore a court order. Specifically a Supreme Court order. And the answer is a qualified yes.

Andrew Jackson did so regarding a matter concerning Native American land rights and Lincoln did it regarding habeas corpus. The only resort anyone has if a president did disregard an SC decision is...impeachment. Maybe a separate thread is required...

 

[A2SG]

Judge to pause Trump administration effort to gut USAID's workforce by thousands​

A federal judge on Friday said he will pause a midnight deadline for the U.S. Agency for International Development to be stripped down to a few hundred workers from a workforce of more than 5,000.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump's efforts "exceed presidential authority and usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution," violating the separation of powers.

Why do I get the feeling we're going to be hearing this a lot in the coming years?

-- A2SG, oh well, three weeks down, 205 to go.....

 

[FireDragon76]

Since Islamism is taking over, the wealthy Muslim countries can pick up the slack, and help their own.

And Russia and China are going to have ever less concern for that than the United States government. Far less.

The US jettisoning all soft power will only hasten its decline.

 

[ozso]

The United States and the United States alone is responsible for taking care of the rest of the world.

 

[Say it aint so]

Impoverished countries have nothing to offer China. They have nothing to offer anyone, they just need help.

Think it through. As an example:

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed that China would create a “Silk Road Economic Belt” across Central Asia and Europe and a “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” running through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, on to the Middle East and Europe — programs meant to revive ancient trade routes and reinforce existing ones. Beijing quickly wove these two visions together and dubbed them the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). ​

​

While seemingly aimed at regional economic corridors, the BRI is in fact global and motivated by economic and strategic interests. A successful BRI would allow China to more efficiently utilize excess savings and construction capacity, expand trade, consolidate economic and diplomatic relations with participating countries, and diversify China’s import of energy and other resources through economic corridors that circumvent routes that are controlled by the U.S. and its allies. "Understanding China’s Belt and Road infrastructure projects in Africa"​

They're playing chess, while we, and specially Trump is playing checkers.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Think it through. As an example:

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed that China would create a “Silk Road Economic Belt” across Central Asia and Europe and a “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” running through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, on to the Middle East and Europe — programs meant to revive ancient trade routes and reinforce existing ones. Beijing quickly wove these two visions together and dubbed them the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). ​

​

While seemingly aimed at regional economic corridors, the BRI is in fact global and motivated by economic and strategic interests. A successful BRI would allow China to more efficiently utilize excess savings and construction capacity, expand trade, consolidate economic and diplomatic relations with participating countries, and diversify China’s import of energy and other resources through economic corridors that circumvent routes that are controlled by the U.S. and its allies. "Understanding China’s Belt and Road infrastructure projects in Africa"​

They're playing chess, while we, and specially Trump is playing checkers.

Are we supposed to block China from any gains they can make, at all times? Hold them down, so to speak?

If so, then that's something entirely new, as we've been trading with them for decades, and are solely responsible for their build-up.

...I don't get it. Or is this some kind of reverse psychology being played on me, on why these USAID programs must be reinstated immediately.

 

[Say it aint so]

Are we supposed to block China from any gains they can make, at all times? Hold them down, so to speak?

If so, then that's something entirely new, as we've been trading with them for decades, and are solely responsible for their build-up.

...I don't get it. Or is this some kind of reverse psychology being played on me, on why these USAID programs must be reinstated immediately.

What I am saying is give up on soft diplomacy, then understand the ramifications. Again, we're playing checkers. They're playing chess.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Soup kitchens can no longer feed the hungry. First responders are unable to reach the dead and wounded. Mothers and fathers search in vain for the medicines that keep them alive.

Last week, thousands of “stop-work” orders went out to employees and contractors for the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, which has long been Washington’s main vehicle for global aid.

“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” billionaire Elon Musk ... boasted. Calling the agency a “radical-left political psy op” and “a criminal organization,” Musk said it was “time for it to die.”

In the most desperate places, like war-ravaged Sudan, the fallout has been immediate. Half the population of 50 million needs food aid, and famine is spreading as Islamist militias and their allies in the military battle a paramilitary accused by Washington of genocide. The USAID suspension has halted national food programs serving millions and shuttered hundreds of community kitchens

A worker for another medical aid group recounted receiving a desperate call on Saturday from health officials in Omdurman, northwest of the capital, begging them to send an ambulance to a market that had just been bombed.

“Unfortunately I told them that the ambulance is no longer available because of the suspension; it was a rented vehicle so the owner took it back,” the medical aid worker said. At least 54 people were killed and 158 injured in the attack, local authorities said.

The stop-work orders have also grounded efforts to contain a deadly hemorrhagic Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, the spread of an mpox variant killing children in West Africa, as well as the monitoring of a dangerous bird flu that has been identified in 49 countries, according to Atul Gawande, the former head of global health at USAID.

Traditionally, USAID has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Washington. In addition to saving lives, its backers say it helps stabilize some of the world’s poorest and most volatile regions while acting as a bulwark against Russian and Chinese influence.

After a bipartisan outcry, Rubio on Saturday announced a specific carve-out [again the administration rescinding its own actions] to enable continued funding for PEPFAR — a universally celebrated HIV/AIDS program launched by former president George W. Bush that is credited with saving millions of lives in Africa and which 20 million people still depend on. Despite the exemption, many PEPFAR initiatives have been thrown into chaos.

“I’m told that drugs are still being withheld at clinics in Africa,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said Monday on X.

2 million dollars on Guatemalan transgender surgeries and condoms for the terrorists.

There's nothing more to say. Any outcry is farcical, no one is going to die because we stopped promoting the radical left-wing agenda abroad.

Guatemalan's can pay for their own castrations if they want them so bad. Don't dare think left wing bureaucrats are taking that nonsense out on American taxpayers. Anyone who wants that kind of practice funded are fully able to donate their own money to whatever charity lops off body parts.

Trimming down USAID to only the humanitarian necessities hurts no one but the crazy people who don't live in our reality anyway .

The grift off the American dime is finished.