Killing USAID is a Criminal Act

The U.S's image in the world will tank and our adversaries will gladly fill the vacuum - at the expense of our national security.

Yours truly on the job

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, I was tasked with finding 800 mules to purchase on behalf of USAID. The mules were needed to transport food, medicines and other humanitarian assistance to Afghans under military attack by the Russians. By helping to keep their villages from being starved or unable to treat wounds and maladies, we enabled the mujahidin to be able to fight their foe without worrying unduly about their loved ones. I found a good deal in Turkey. With USAID funds, we bought the mules and transported them to Afghanistan. USAID personnel in Pakistan worked with local Pakistanis and Afghans on the logistics.

Years later, serving in Cambodia at our new fledgling embassy, we hammered out an aid program from scratch to help the Cambodian people emerge from two decades of Khmer Rouge genocide followed by Vietnamese invasion and occupation. We were particularly proud of USAID's financing and organizing the construction of Route 1, a highway that opened up the interior of the country, enabling commerce and development. This led to the ultimate defeat of the savage Khmer Rouge, who thrived in isolated areas, now opened up. I oversaw the State and USAID-funded Cambodian Mine Action Center, a partnership with Cambodians to clear millions of landmines which killed and maimed many Cambodians, especially farmers and their children. I personally spent more time in mine fields than I care to remember.

As a State Department officer, I relished working with my USAID colleagues around the world, a truly dedicated lot who served almost solely in hardship zones. USAID had the bucks to back up our policy initiatives, the results of which earned us friends, promoted trust and helped keep hostile powers like Russia and China from making inroads. And, oh! Many lives were saved in the process. USAID's entire budget cost us less than a penny on each taxpayer dollar.

That Donald Trump and Elon Musk and their malicious band of cyber-brats can gut a storied agency like USAID, launched by JFK in 1961, almost overnight is worse than irresponsible. It's criminal. That Congress (namely spineless Republicans) allow this to happen makes them accomplices. Accountability, should it come, must treat them harshly. Musk's lies about USAID underscores his evilness. What the Trump-Musk-Vance team have proven they excel at is destroying everything for which Americans can feel proud.

When we finally get through this period of madness in our country, USAID will need to be rebuilt from the bottom up, but the damage done will require decades to overcome. The lost expertise alone is immeasurable. Meantime, the U.S.'s image in the world will tank and our adversaries will gladly fill the vacuum - with strings attached and at the expense of our national security.