I think the goal is to destroy US soft power on the way to undermining the rule of law and destroying what passes for a rules-based international order. Once that's done they can really get busy stamping out democracy.
USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
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Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#22Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.
It's been interesting seeing Western European NGO's struggle to find funding without USAID as well. I don't like Trump, I don't like much of what he's doing, but this at least has been a bit of a wake-up call for me. While the US is rich and should provide what it can, the degree to which the rest of the world (and the rest of the West) has clearly just shrugged and let us carry them is... interesting.
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#23Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.
It's been interesting seeing Western European NGO's struggle to find funding without USAID as well. I don't like Trump, I don't like much of what he's doing, but this at least has been a bit of a wake-up call for me. While the US is rich and should provide what it can, the degree to which the rest of the world (and the rest of the West) has clearly just shrugged and let us carry them is... interesting.
Wait until you hear about NATO (and I say this as a Brit).
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#24[flagged]
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#25I think the goal is to destroy US soft power on the way to undermining the rule of law and destroying what passes for a rules-based international order. Once that's done they can really get busy stamping out democracy.
I don't think USAID is the core of US soft power, Hollywood is. Our tech industry is. Our food and our language and the way our culture seeps into everything is.
If USAID and aid to places in much of Africa was our soft power, I'd expect to see a lot less pivoting to China and Russia in those places. On that note, perhaps the countries that decided to invite Wagner or enter the Chinese BRI can ask their new friends for some TB meds?
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's been interesting seeing Western European NGO's struggle to find funding without USAID as well. I don't like Trump, I don't like much of what he's doing, but this at least has been a bit of a wake-up call for me. While the US is rich and should provide what it can, the degree to which the rest of the world (and the rest of the West) has clearly just shrugged and let us carry them is... interesting.
Wait until you hear about NATO (and I say this as a Brit).
I see that as different, it is first and foremost an American project, born from a conflict between superpowers. I don't think the same is true about global charity.
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#27Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.
Because the US is the de-facto leader of the Free World, the wealthiest country in the Western hemisphere and the winner of the Cold War. Heavy Lies the Crown. Especially when it's about fighting the deadliest infectious disease known to man.
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#28That USAID was Trump and Musk's first target after taking office is peculiar. They made no mention of it during the campaign and most people were unaware of it's existence until a couple weeks ago. The only group with any strong negative opinion of USAID is foreign adversaries.
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Global geopolitics are complicated . It's true on some level that no one trusts anyone else, but relative levels of trust still matter. There aren't many superpowers out there, if the US is seen as unreliable, China and the EU can step in and replace US influence. This has been happening in Africa for a couple decades or…
>Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Firstly, I have no sympathy here. If you trust any foreign government that's not accountable to you to begin with, that's on you. The upshot is that this serves as a good lesson and wake-up call for Canadians and for us in EU as well that we need to start pulling our weight in the world and looking out for our own inter…
The Swiss trust their neighbors in most things. They have extensive trading relationships with their neighbors, many treaties and relatively open borders. There military is structured under the assumption their neighbors won't invade.
Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts
#30Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.
The goodwill the US gets from soft and hard power projection is precisely what allows us to have the world reserve currency. This allows the government to print large amounts of new money with much smaller consequences. The US is basically the center of an economic empire, which the neofascists are intent on destroying - either out of mistaken adherence to the political tropes of analyzing a country like a household (eg the harping on "government debt"), or it's likely they are just overtly selling us out to the rising empire of China.