[WaPo] Trump moves to wrest control of USAID as Musk says, ‘We’re shutting it down’

It is because he is a coward - and will grovel for crumbs from the man that humiliated him repeatedly. JD Vance is much the same way- Ted Cruz as well, although at least he doesn’t beg for crumbs anymore.

Rubio will say and do anything for relevance. It’s disgusting.

 

Sexual Violence, Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits Malawi — ProPublica

American diplomats in at least two countries have recently delivered internal reports to Washington that reflect a grim new reality taking hold abroad: The Trump administration’s sudden withdrawal of foreign aid is bringing about the violence and chaos that many had warned would come.

The vacuum left after the U.S. abandoned its humanitarian commitments has destabilized some of the most fragile locations in the world and thrown refugee camps further into unrest, according to State Department correspondence and notes obtained by ProPublica.

The assessments are not just predictions about the future but detailed accounts of what has already occurred, making them among the first such reports from inside the Trump administration to surface publicly — though experts suspect they will not be the last. The diplomats warned in their correspondence that stopping aid may undermine efforts to combat terrorism.

In the southeastern African country of Malawi, U.S. funding cuts to the United Nations’ World Food Programme have “yielded a sharp increase in criminality, sexual violence, and instances of human trafficking” within a large refugee camp, U.S. embassy officials told the State Department in late April.

“It is devastating, but it’s not surprising,” Eric Schwartz, a former State Department assistant secretary and member of the National Security Council during Democratic administrations, told ProPublica. “It’s all what people in the national security community have predicted.”

“I struggle for adjectives to adequately describe the horror that this administration has visited on the world,” Schwartz added. “It keeps me up at night.”

 

Two things.
I do not think lack of food causes sexual violence, as stated above.
If I'm hungry the last thing on my mind is good lovin.

2nd issue. If it's called the "world Food Programme" spelling makes it seem Euro in Nature, so why is it the United States fault people are starving. How about the Euros kick in a little more.

You may not agree with it but that's kind of what Americanism is, and what El Trumpo ran on.
It sucks when some vital aide gets cut in order to clear the decks of some of the other foolery that has been prevalent.

The real question here is do we as a nation want to make any effort to reduce our spending or go on with the Status Quo.
That is the real rub here. We can't be the world's teat to suckle anymore. And those that have depended on us to prop them up are going to feel pain.

Yes, I feel bad that people around the world are suffering, but it can no longer be this country's job of giving your taxes paid, to other countries. While handing this deficit to your grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Don't hit me with the Trump's big Bill won't solve anything. I do not think it will either, that is not what we are discussing here.
The problem with our government for so long is, keeping things the way they are is not really sustainable.
At some point the bandage has to be ripped off. Now or later. Pick your poison

Private citizens please give to these humanitarian orgs:
Red Cross/Red Crescent
Direct Relief
Oxfam
Mercy Corps
And any of the world food banks.

 

That’s a fair thought, and I’m definitely not claiming to be an expert. The article is pointing out what was expected to happen, and what is happening, according to people who study this stuff on the ground.

Why is there a connection between food aid cuts and things like sexual violence or trafficking? The idea isn't that hunger somehow causes abuse directly. It's that when basic support systems collapse, like food, shelter, and protection programs, people become desperate and vulnerable, especially women and children. That’s when predators and traffickers move in. Refugee camps already have weak policing and oversight, so when humanitarian orgs have to pull back, exploitation fills the vacuum.

If a country wants to step back from funding global aid, fine. But doing it responsibly means taking the warnings seriously. That includes phasing out support gradually and working to get others (yes, including the Europeans) to step up. Just walking away lead to chaos, and expected harm - including close to a billion in spoiled food that was already in transit but never delivered.

These links lay out some of those real-world consequences (and the connection) in more detail:

• https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/...re-displaced-women-risk-gender-based-violence
  
  
• https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles...-womens-rights-whats-at-stake-and-how-to-help
  
  
• https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/World Vision - Ration Cuts - World Refugee Day 2024.pdf
  
  
• https://www.wired.com/story/doge-usaid-state-department-child-exploitation/

 

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
I will check out the links.

 

two others:

ShelterBox
Operation BBQ Relief