USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a significant organ of US foreign policy and a key operational arm of the apparatus called the "Blob" or Deep State.

USAID functions primarily as an instrument of US statecraft, engaging in a wide array of activities beyond traditional development assistance. It operates with limited transparency and oversight.

The agency has a substantial budget, exceeding $44 billion. It previously employed more than 14,000 people, with two-thirds working overseas. Following discoveries brought to light, the number of overseas personnel significantly reduced to between 294 and 611 people.

USAID operates in over 100 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Its pervasive presence and influence in numerous nations is described as the "USAID Truman Show".

Function and Purpose

While the stated purpose of USAID is international development and humanitarian assistance, it serves a strategic role advancing US foreign policy interests. It acts as a discreet conduit for operations that would be politically sensitive or face diplomatic blowback if conducted directly by the State Department, Pentagon, or CIA. The phrase "when it's too dirty for the CIA, you give it to USAID" describes this function.

USAID has greater flexibility and less bureaucratic red tape than the State Department for certain operations. Formally guided by the State Department, it has significant autonomy and operates with limited oversight. Everything USAID does is dual purpose; it must advance some US national interest.

Operational Areas and Activities

USAID engages in diverse and interconnected operations, often through a "whole of society" or "whole of government" approach involving collaboration with other US government agencies, private sector entities, civil society organisations, and media institutions. Key areas of activity include:

• Judicial and Legal System Influence:

USAID programs labelled "judicial reform" are attempts to influence legal systems, courts, judges, and prosecutors in numerous countries. The aim is to rig the scales of justice in favour of US foreign policy interests.

This involves financially supporting networks around legal institutions. In Brazil, USAID works with the judiciary, specifically targeting figures like Bolsonaro. USAID used its role with prosecutors to target Bolsonaro. Joe Biden personally weaponised USAID to force the firing of a foreign country's prosecutor (Viktor Shokin in Ukraine) to get a billion-dollar loan guarantee, despite Shokin investigating Burisma. This loan guarantee was conditioned on Ukraine changing policies. USAID supports prosecutor networks in the US as well.

USAID gives grants to entities like the Tide Centre, which is the fiscal sponsor for groups like Fair and Just Prosecution, managing prosecutors funded by the Open Society Foundation and working with figures like Alvin Bragg and Letitia James.

• Media Funding and Narrative Control:

USAID is a major funder of media outlets globally, particularly those labelled "Independent Media". This term is a "weasel word" for media funded by the US government and independent from US adversaries. USAID funds journalist training programs to shape reporting.

90% of media in Ukraine is funded by the US government. Content from US-funded media outlets in Ukraine is subject to review and approval processes influenced by US entities.

• Countering Disinformation and Censorship:

USAID is a key player in the system aiming to control the online information environment. It funds initiatives to counter perceived 'Misinformation' and 'disinformation', using euphemisms like "information integrity" or "digital resilience".

USAID funds NGOs and engages in efforts to pressure social media companies. It advocated for global advertising exclusion lists to financially deplatform disfavoured news sites, including US-based ones. It is linked to efforts to lobby foreign governments, particularly in Europe (like the EU's Digital Services Act), to pass censorship laws that can impact US platforms, bypassing US First Amendment protections.

This is part of a proxy war on free speech between the Blob and Populism, with the Blob seeking censorship as a tool for democracy promotion. This effort was accelerated after 2016 when Brexit and Trump's election were perceived as results of unfiltered information online. They use AI superweapons developed for counterterrorism (Natural Language Processing) to monitor and censor online speech globally.

• Funding Investigative Journalism for Political Targeting:

USAID, often with the State Department, funds large investigative journalism consortia, such as the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

These groups produce "hit pieces" or "mercenary media" to expose corruption, primarily targeting political opponents of US foreign policy. USAID boasts about the achievements of this program, which cost $20 million.

Claimed accomplishments include levying $4.5 billion in fines (now over $10 billion), inducing 548 policy changes, forcing 21 resignations and sackings, including a president and prime minister, and generating hundreds of arrests and indictments. The head of OCCRP openly stated their reporting caused governments to topple.

• Political Stabilisation, Destabilization, and Regime Change:

USAID is involved in efforts to influence political outcomes, including supporting opposition movements. It plans or facilitates protests and riots, sometimes called "smart mobs" or "rental riots".

Examples cited include its role in the Arab Spring, pumping $1.2 billion into the region. It planned the Zenzo social media operation in Cuba to build a subscriber base with non-controversial news (sports, music, hurricanes) and then introduce political content to inspire "smart mobs" to trigger a "Cuban spring" or "renegotiate the balance of power".

USAID coordinates with Special Forces on operations to destabilise regions or countries to achieve diplomatic objectives. An example is coordinating with Special Forces in West Africa to organise job fairs near protest areas for striking African workers, effectively paying them with US taxpayer money for no-show jobs to pressure a construction company and give leverage to the US state department Ambassador to stop a foreign port construction.

This caused the company to lose 60% of its labour pool within two weeks. It influences elections in countries like Romania and Poland. USAID's partner, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), published an article in its journal demanding the new Polish government arrest high-ranking members of the opposing Law and Justice (PiS) party to "Stamp Out populism" and "stabilise the political system," effectively ordering the jailing of political opponents to ensure victory in the next election. NED is described as a CIA front group created to take over covert democracy promotion work after the CIA got in trouble in the 1960s.

• Civil Society and University Engagement:

A vast network of NGOs and universities are funded by USAID to act as operational partners. They implement programs, conduct research (including in areas like "disinformation studies"), and provide thought leadership aligned with US foreign policy goals.

USAID has provided funds that flowed through universities to controversial research abroad, including Gain-of-Function research. It funds Feminist and LGBT groups as Cleavage Points to mobilise against governments. Funding Transgender dance festivals in a country as a cynical exploitation of a group to serve as a battering ram against a head of state the US wants to overthrow.

• Music as Statecraft:

Music, including protest rock and rap, is used as an instrument of statecraft. USAID funded rap groups in Cuba to inspire anti-government sentiment and street protests. Pop stars like Dua Lipa are presented as instruments of statecraft due to their popularity and willingness to call out human rights abuses by governments in geopolitical crosshairs.

A 2019 NATO psychological operations conference included a slide deck pitching the use of celebrities, with a picture of Taylor Swift, stating "celebrities who can be trained to spread desired messaging".

• Migration Support: USAID funds numerous NGOs to support migrants, including providing transport, shelter, food, and cash. This is alleged to facilitate illegal Immigration into the US.
• Links to Terrorism and Drug Trade: USAID funding supports think tanks (like the US Institute of Peace, which receives State Department funding) arguing that the Taliban's opium ban is negative. USAID is alleged to provide funding to paramilitary terrorist groups as they are useful for US statecraft. This mirrors historical US support for groups like the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, where the aim was to arm them without revealing America's role.

Methods and Mechanisms

USAID's operations are facilitated through various methods:

• Direct Grant Funding:

Providing US taxpayer money to NGOs, media outlets, universities, and other entities globally. This funding creates a perverse incentive for recipients to lobby for more USAID money, creating a "self-licking ice cream cone".

• Capacity Building:

Strengthening entities aligned with US goals, such as media organisations or legal institutions. This involves training.

• Intermediaries ("Swarm Army"):

Using a large network of NGOs (like the 400 represented by the US Global Leadership Coalition) to carry out operations. This provides a layer of plausible deniability for the US government. USAID funds these NGOs, which are in alliance with businesses.

• Lobbying and Pressure:

Exerting pressure on foreign governments (e.g., conditioning loans on policy changes), international bodies (like the EU, NATO), and private sector entities (like tech companies, advertisers) to align with US objectives.

• Strategic Communication: Employing terms like "information integrity," "digital resilience," and "media literacy" to frame activities that involve censorship or narrative control.
• Coordination with Intelligence and Military: Synchronising activities with agencies like the CIA, DOD, and Special Forces. This includes coordinating with the Information Warfare Center at Fort Bragg. This coordination can sometimes shield collaborations from standard oversight. This fusing of military hard power with USAID soft power is called "smart power".
• Lawfare:

Using legal challenges and the criminal justice system to target political opponents. Lawfare involves funding investigative journalism that leads to arrests and indictments.

Oversight and Domestic Impact Concerns

Significant concerns exist about the lack of transparency and effective oversight of USAID's activities. USAID is structured to allow operations to be kept "in house".

Plausible deniability is built into its operations; for instance, earmarking funds for one country (like Pakistan) while using them for operations in another (like Cuba's Zenzo project). The reason for operating discreetly out of USAID is to dupe people and put oversight bodies in a difficult spot.

USAID's activities are alleged to have a domestic impact on the US. This includes funding entities that participate in US advertiser blacklists targeting US news sites and supporting investigative journalism networks that create hit pieces on US political figures. US taxpayer money is used in ways that are alleged to undermine the rights or reputations of US citizens.

This presents a potential "Smith-Mundt problem," which was supposed to protect US citizens from foreign propaganda distributed inwards but was allegedly dismantled. USAID funding civil society groups linked to domestic political movements, like Black Lives Matter, is a form of foreign dirty tricks work potentially boomerang back home.

The template used by USAID abroad for destabilisation, leveraging racial tensions, unemployment, and subcultures to cause protests and riots, mirrors events that have occurred domestically.

Recent Developments and Proposed Reforms

Recent events, including the public emergence of documents and scrutiny led by figures like Elon Musk, have revealed the extent of USAID's alleged activities, leading to increased public awareness and scandal. USAID's website even went down recently due to this scandal.

These discoveries prompted significant changes, including the drastic reduction in overseas personnel. However, the flow of money is shifting towards the State Department, which oversees USAID anyway.

In response to the alleged issues, reforms are proposed. These include legislative action to impose criminal and civil penalties on individuals or entities involved in using US funds for targeting US citizens or engaging in politically motivated actions. Establishing a civil right of action against grantees or even the agency itself for such actions is suggested to ensure accountability and deter future occurrences.

A key reform is establishing a Smith-Mundt style protection for funding and operations to create a firewall preventing overseas destabilization efforts from being brought into the US. Oversight is needed over the companies funded by USAID, potentially requiring a threshold of investment or employment on US soil for groups receiving US taxpayer money.

The need for reforms across various agencies involved in this work (State, DOD, CIA) is highlighted. The total abolition of USAID and folding its function into the State Department, alongside enacting Smith-Mundt style protections, is supported as a way to send a chilling message against future dirty work. However, moving USAID's funding and function to the State Department without fundamental reforms is described as giving the State Department a "USAID herpes infection".