Trump and his sycophant Musk are busy dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. It’s a terrible idea.
Elon Musk is not a diplomat and I doubt he knows much about foreign policy. He does excel though in taking a wrecking ball to an institution that has created not only sound relationships with other nations but an agency that benefits America’s business interests. It makes no sense and will have adverse results.
Here’s my reasoning.
As a consultant for AID in Ukraine and Moldova, I observed first-hand what this agency is all about. We helped establish business centers through a project called NEWBIZNET. These centers fostered business opportunities between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Here is one example. Because of AID expertise, a major U.S. lumber conglomerate built sawmills in Ukraine for exporting lumber to Europe and the U.S.
Everyone involved benefitted. The only cost was U.S. consulting assistance. And if AID merged with the State Department you might have diplomacy but lose the operational benefits.
I have friends who are seasoned diplomats but I’ll bet they would have trouble getting lumber out of Ukraine notwithstanding the war. And this is just one example.
Don’t think that taking a wrecking ball to this agency is a good idea.
Russell Mouritsen, Holladay
