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2025-01-25 Home Front: Politix

US freezes new funding for most foreign aid programs, Israel military aid unaffected

[IsraelTimes] State Department to conduct review to ensure funding aligns with Trump’s ‘foreign policy agenda’; humanitarian food programs and military assistance to Egypt also won’t be impacted

The State Department on Friday froze new funding for almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions to allow humanitarian food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt to continue.

The sweeping order threatened a quick halt to countless projects globally aiding health, education, development, job training and other efforts by the United States, the largest provider of foreign aid. It appears to begin enforcement of a pledge to eliminate aid programs that President Donald Trump
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
judges not to be in US interests.

The order — sent in a cable to US embassies worldwide and obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named — prohibits new government spending, which appears to limit programs to running only as long as they have cash on hand.

Some leading aid organizations on Friday were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for US-funded aid work globally, a senior aid organization official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The State Department during the freeze will conduct a review of which of the thousands of US aid and development programs can continue. Its order spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order Trump signed on Monday.

Friday’s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including any exemptions sparing health clinics and other health programs worldwide from the new funding freeze.

The freeze was necessary to ensure that "appropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy," the global cable stated.

Within the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is "aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda."

Within three months, the government-wide review is expected to be completed with a subsequent report to be produced for Secretary of State Marco Rubio

...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
to make recommendations to the president.

Posted by trailing wife 2025-01-25 2025-01-25 00:43|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 Excellent move.

Posted by Besoeker 2025-01-25 01:59|| 2025-01-25 01:59|| Front Page Top

#2 Foreign aid to Israel and Egypt, annually in the billions of $ were set by treaty during the Kissinger years. They have served the purpose of maintaining peace between two former belligerants.

Posted by Glusomp Spealet4328 2025-01-25 04:58|| 2025-01-25 04:58|| Front Page Top

#3 ^^ Still not the US's problem, but there we are.

Posted by DooDahMan 2025-01-25 05:13|| 2025-01-25 05:13|| Front Page Top

#4 Jimmy *SPIT* Carter's brilliant solution to the middle east problem that was never ours in the first place. Bribe Egypt with billions.
And then, for reasons that are still unclear to everyone, Israel had to get a similar bribe.
If these programs are so critical, let Europe and other nations who think they're important step in and cough up the cash. We have a border and North Carolina to attend to. We're broke from printing money to hand to Ukraine.

Posted by Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 2025-01-25 08:54|| 2025-01-25 08:54|| Front Page Top

#5 US orders immediate pause to foreign aid, leaked memo says

Posted by Skidmark 2025-01-25 11:22|| 2025-01-25 11:22|| Front Page Top

#6 And then, for reasons that are still unclear to everyone, Israel had to get a similar bribe.

This followed the Yom Kippur War, which Israel won overwhelmingly, and in fact General Ariel Sharon was well on his way to overrunning Cairo when he was stopped. If Egypt were the only one to get an American payoff in addition to getting the Sinai back from Israel in the usual land-for-peace trade Israel used to offer, the world would agree with Egypt that Israel had lost after all, and the rest of the surrounding nations would recalculate in favour of having America hand them similar wins against the hated Zionist entity in their midst.

As it is, Egypt gets money and arms, but Israel gets enough more that she maintains military superiority. Or at least that’s how I’ve always understood it.

Posted by trailing wife 2025-01-25 14:21|| 2025-01-25 14:21|| Front Page Top

00:49 Skidmark
00:44 Skidmark
00:34 Skidmark
00:28 Thing From Snowy Mountain
00:27 DooDahMan
00:24 Skidmark
00:20 Grom the Affective
00:14 Grom the Affective