Russia sent formal notice to US on September 11 that they must close USAID by Oct. 1:
9/19/12, "Russia Demands U.S. End Support of Democracy Groups," NY Times, Herszenhorn, Barry
"Russia has ordered the United States to end its financial support for a wide range of pro-democracy, public health and other civil society programs here, in an aggressive step by the Kremlin to halt what it views as American meddling in its internal affairs.
The Kremlin’s provocative decision to end two decades of work in post-Soviet Russia by the United States Agency for International Development — with little warning ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline — was announced on Tuesday by the State Department in Washington. The move stands to cut off aid that currently totals about $50 million a year, a relatively small sum but a potentially devastating blow for groups that came to rely on foreign money as domestic controls over politics tightened.
American officials, who were informed of the decision earlier this month, quickly pledged to maneuver around the Kremlin. The Obama administration last October proposed the creation of a new $50 million fund— essentially an endowment for a private foundation established under Russian law — for Russian civil society groups, and one senior administration official said work on that project would speed up.
The Kremlin has taken a number of actions in recent months to bring pressure on nongovernmental groups and clamp down on political dissent, including a new law requiring any organization receiving aid from abroad to register with the justice manager as “acting as a foreign agent.” Russia also increased the penalties for libel and slander — a step that seemed intended to intimidate critics of government officials....
The abruptness of Russia’s announcements represents a sour new turn in relations between the countries, which have been touch-and-go since Mr. Putin returned to the presidency in May. While Mr. Putin has rebuffed overtures from President Obama for international action on Syria, he has also praised him as “a very honest man” who could possibly conclude a missile defense deal in coming years.
Mr. Putin also undoubtedly would prefer to deal with the devil he knows rather than the one he does not — the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, whom Mr. Putin has criticized for characterizing Russia as America’s greatest geopolitical foe.
Reaction was swift in Washington to what was widely perceived as an affront, with Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, urging the White House to condemn the Kremlin. “The Russian government’s decision to end all U.S.A.I.D. activities in the country is an insult to the United States and a finger in the eye of the Obama administration, which has consistently trumpeted the alleged success of its so-called reset policy toward Moscow,” Mr. McCain said in a statement....
Mr. Putin, facing large-scale dissent at home for the first time, has said unrest is being stoked by the State Department, working covertly through nonprofit organizations.
Among the groups supported by the money from Washington is Golos, Russia’s only independent election monitoring group, which last winter enlisted thousands of young Russians as poll-station monitors and posted reports of vote-rigging on its Web site....
Officials said that the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, informed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of the decision on Sept. 8, when they met in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting.
Formal notice was then sent to Washington, through the American ambassador, Michael A. McFaul, in a memorandum dated Sept. 11, officials said....
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the programs have cost American taxpayers $2.7 billion, with about one-third of the yearly funding now going to health programs.
In recent years, however, Russia has bridled at the foreign aid flowing across its borders, in part because it views itself as a world power, a member of the Group of 8, and therefore more appropriately positioned to dole out assistance than to receive it."...
=================================
Ed. note: USAID is just another way to transfer US taxpayer dollars to anyone and everyone, no strings. USAID covers up criminal use of US taxpayer money:
4/15/2009, "Report: U.N. spent U.S. funds on shoddy projects," USA Today, Ken Dilanian
"That witness said the Afghanistan country director...which served as the contractor on the project for the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), spent about $200,000 in U.S. money to renovate his guesthouse. Witness names were withheld by USAID."...
----------------------------------------------------
US taxpayer money given to USAID or the UN can be put in a personal Swiss bank account, no questions will be asked:
4/15/2009, "Report: U.N. spent U.S. funds on shoddy projects," USA Today, Ken Dilanian
"Commissioner Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon controller, asked Gambatesa whether the agencies have immunity "if they siphon (their U.S. grants) all off into Swiss banks? Is that accurate? They will be totally immune, no matter what they do with the money?"
"My understanding is, yes," Gambatesa replied."...
============================
4/12/12, "Couple allegedly used USAID money to fix home, buy cars," devex.com, Ravelo
============================
10/21/11, "Former Louis Berger Group CEO Charged in USAID Defrauding Scheme," devex.com
------------------------------------------
7/27/11, "Afghanistan Rejects SIGAR’s Audit Findings, Denies Responsibility in US Aid Misuse," devex.com
===========================
3/22/12, "Mammoth new green climate fund wants United Nations-style diplomatic immunity, even though it’s not part of the UN," George Russell, Fox News
----------------------------------------------
US taxpayer dollars are funneled via USAID to more than 100 countries.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment