Comment by joe_mamba
4 days ago
>These programs were largely about ensuring that American propaganda can reach people in Iran or similar places.
This. The og point of USAID wasn't AID as per the name would misleadingly let you believe, but spreading pro-US anti-USSR propaganda, and only like 3% of that program was spent on actual AID, like food and medicine for the third world, but most of it went to funding media, news and journalists across LatAm, Asia, Africa dn EE, that would push domestic support in those regions for US policies and be critical of US adversaries.
US doesn't fund "freedom" of anything out of selflessness, it funds policies that are guaranteed to benefit it over its rivals, and use the word "freedom" to legitimize it. Once those benefits no longer materialize, the funding also goes away.
The budget for USAID in 2024 was $25.6 billion [0]. $ 9.5 billion were allocated to health programs and $ 1.1 billion to agriculture, education and infrastructure [1]. You can do the math.
[0] https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/usaid-budget-2024-...
[1] https://factually.co/fact-checks/health/usaid-2024-food-medi...
>only like 3% of that program was spent on actual AID, like food and medicine for the third world, but most of it went to funding media, news and journalists across LatAm, Asia, Africa dn EE, that would push domestic support in those regions for US policies and be critical of US adversaries.
3%? There was a lot of waste with the program but surely, please give this at least 30 seconds of thought.
My bad, it was 5-15% of USAID that went towards food aid to countries in need.
Source please. This doesn't pass the smell test, because the largest expenses in international aid programs are usually related to healthcare and agriculture. Propaganda is very cheap compared to producing and distributing malaria drugs or grain to the most remote corners of the world or building water sanitation plants in places that have no roads and no electricity.
Makes the future interestingly unpredictable other than the inevitable fading of the US-isation of the rest of the world.
>US-isation of the rest of the world
Growing up in a post-communist country, Hollywood and the US music and gaming industry had more impact on the "US-isation of our country" than USAID propaganda, back then.
But today most of Hollywood productions and music coming out of the US is pure trash that people abroad now reject it as propaganda garbage.
US destroyed its global soft power, not by defunding USAID, but by forcibly injecting unpopular ideologies into its entertainment industry instead of sticking to tried and true formulas, ideals and values that transcend cultural and language barriers.
Most Hollywood production has always been trash. US shows are still very popular and influential. Many countries are just richer post 2000s, subsidize their movie industry and it's way easier to distribute movies internationally compared to 30 years ago. Barrier to entry in general has gone down. Pretending woke is the main reason ignores many things.
> forcibly injecting unpopular ideologies
Oh the right-wing propaganda of decrying "wokeness" in pop culture that "replaces" good old white christian culture is very much an export you fell victim to as well. It promotes far-right "alternative" political parties, useful to the US all the same..
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