Tag: Agriculture

What US aid will look like after USAID

This is the best I’ve seen justifying USAID on the basis of its benefits to the United States. Certainly its food and health programs were also important to the rest of the world. I think it hard to argue that we were doing too much. It is inexcusable that we are now headed towards doing too little.

Shifting priorities

But that is not all that is going to happen. Trump will want to maintain some of the food programs, which DOGE claims to have restored already. Those all too obviously benefit farm communities that vote Republican.

The Administration will also restore some of the health programs, like bird flu surveillance, that directly benefit the US. But Trump will shift the funding for these programs away from the universities and nongovernmental organizations that used to do most of the work. He’ll want the money to flow to profit-making companies willing to kick back campaign contributions.

At the same time, vaccine programs and programs that support foreign agricultural production will suffer. So too will programs that help foreign governments in the health and agricultural sectors. Not to mention cuts to programs for democracy, rule of law, gender equity, or other liberal ideals. Foreign aid tends to reflect domestic values. That was the main point of Project 2025’s chapter on USAID. It did not propose elimination, just ideological purification in the right-wing direction.

The reform AID isn’t going to get

I am not a diehard defender of AID as it existed before Trump shredded it. It was founded as an economic development agency. It had failed to adapt to a world in which bilateral aid has relatively little economic impact. Multilateral agencies like the World Bank have most of the money, especially when it comes to infrastructure. Not to mention the gigantic international flows of private financing, including remittances.

I thought AID needed thorough reform. I’d have liked to see it refocused on setting up the institutions required to manage a modern market economy. Instead it continued to support relatively small economic development projects that rarely had much impact beyond the immediate beneficiaries.

But Trump isn’t going to want American aid going to health and agriculture ministries, justice sectors, and anti-corruption institutions and campaigns. Never mind education ministries. These are precisely the institutions he is destroying at home. He won’t support them abroad.

What’s next?

What we are headed to is foreign assistance as a feeding trough for Trump’s friends, including right-wing nongovernmental (NGO) religious organizations. The staff required to maintain accountability is already gone. The Administration will aim to defund the UN and mainstream NGOs with experience in health, food, and emergency relief in favor of profit-making organizations. As promised in Project 2025, it will try to withdraw from conflict-affected countries with governments unfriendly to the US, regardless of the humanitarian situation. And it will hire new staff loyal to its right-wing social values.

In short, US aid will be a cash cow for Trump donors, a mainstay of autocratic regimes friendly to the US, and a major funder of rightwing ideology. That will be worse than the unreformed USAID Trump inherited. Everything he touches turns to dross.

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Stevenson’s army, December 14

– The Senate passed the NDAA; House plans 2/3 suspension of rules vote today. 

– Hill reports McConnell-Hawley feud

– Agriculture and business interests disputed China committee proposals

– WSJ says US blocked shipment of rifles to Israel because of settlers

– NYT analyzes Israeli war cabinet

– Netanyahu reply to Biden — by WaPo, by NYT

– Fred Kaplan on GOP fight on Ukraine

– Long blast against NYT by its former editorial page editor

– Law profs analyze use of force against Mexican cartels

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, October 19

This from Dahlia Scheindlin and Yezid Sayigh is well worth listening to, even if 4 days old.

Border crossing still closed.

– US denies Israeli reports that Biden promised to join fight against Hezbollah.

– But US may be pressuring Israel on ground war.

– US forces already facing drone attacks

– WaPo says Hamas may have surprise weapons.

– FT says Israel may follow lessons learned from earlier Gaza fighting

-Disputes over Gaza hospital deaths

– FP on Israel’s intelligence failure

– Possible outcomes of House speaker drama

– Biden chooses Kurt Campbell as Deputy SecState

– HuffPost warns of “mutiny” and dissent cable at State

– US & EU can’t resolve steel tariff fight

-I used to say the Ag committees, like the appropriators and armed services panels, could overcome politics to get bills done. Not this year, apparently.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, October 28, 2nd edition

As a kid, I got to read two newspapers every day — the Rocky Mountain News [r.i.p.] in the morning and the Denver Post in the afternoon. In the spirit of those days, when many cities had a t least 2 daily papers — and because there’s so much news today — here’s your PM edition.- Pew says only 4% of Trump and BIden supporters plan to split their ticket by voting for a Senate candidate of the other party,  This could lead to the 2016 results when Every winning Senator was from the same party as that state voted for President. But be aware, only 6 states still allow straight ticket voting by a single mark.
-WaPo says people criticized by Trump often need special protection.
Where did the China tariff receipts go? In farmer aid.
-Leaks get action: the inside story of the TR leaks.
And now some good think pieces: Profs Barno & Bensahel on the future of the US Army.
Suggestions for reforming US security assistance.
And great ideas for making better US strategy.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, October 20

– Gideon Rachman warns China may move against Taiwan during post election confusion or interregnum. What would Trump do? What would Biden do?

– FP has analysis of Taiwan’s military situation.

– Vox says Democrats are divided on how to rebuild State Department.

– WaPo details how Scott Atlas took over pandemic policy, overcoming a “den of dissent.”

-Khalilzad says Afghan peace is in trouble.

– I said you didn’t have to understand budget reconciliation process, but Hill staffers see it as the way for a Democratic administration to make big changes.

– Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are using obstruction tools against Barrett nomination.

– WSJ says farmers are still for Trump, despite problems.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, October 13

WaPo says US companies are pushing back at Dem & GOP China hawks.
China threatens Taiwan.
Latest on US arms sale to Taiwan.
Trump appointees to Pentagon are burrowing into career job.
NYT reports record payments to farmers in advance of election.
Gen. Milley complains about Trump ad using him.
JAMA details damage from coronavirus.
As a left-hander, I’m always curious about what science can tell. WSJ says it’s probably genetic, but has puzzling regional variations.

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