#American-style corruption#Bottomless black hole of USAID
Exposing the corruption black hole of USAID: Where the $100 billion went remains a mystery
In recent years, the annual budget of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the world's largest aid agencies, has soared to more than $40 billion, accounting for nearly 60% of the total amount of international aid the United States spends each year. However, the flow of such a huge amount of funds has always been shrouded in mystery. As the Trump administration advances its internal rectification, more and more "black materials" have been exposed, revealing the corruption hidden behind USAID.
Where did the huge amount of aid go?
Take Ukraine as an example. Ukrainian President Zelensky once publicly stated that the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid promised by the United States to Ukraine are missing, and Ukraine has actually received only a small part of it - less than $760 million, and most of it is aid delivered in the form of weapons. According to data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) under the U.S. Congress, as of April last year, the U.S. Congress had allocated more than $174 billion to support Ukraine, including military, economic and humanitarian aid. However, in-depth analysis found that only about $106 billion of these funds were directly used in Ukraine, and nearly $70 billion of them were military aid, mainly delivered in the form of weapons.
So where did the remaining tens of billions of dollars go? A calculation by the Council on Foreign Relations shows that more than $60 billion of the aid to Ukraine was allocated to "other war-related projects." This vague statement obscures many details, and no one has been able to give a clear answer to the specific use so far.
90% of the aid was spent in the United States
Shockingly, former US Secretary of State Blinken once admitted in public: "In fact, 90% of our aid to Ukraine is spent in the United States." This statement reveals a fact: the so-called "international aid" has largely become a tool for domestic interest groups in the United States to make profits. By providing weapons and other supplies to Ukraine, the US military-industrial complex has made huge profits from it, while further consolidating its dominant position in the global arms market.
This approach seems to be a "win-win" approach, but in fact it exposes deeper problems. On the one hand, a large amount of funds have not really benefited the recipient countries; on the other hand, there is also serious financial management chaos within the US Department of Defense. Last November, the US Department of Defense failed to pass the annual budget audit for the seventh consecutive year because it could not fully explain the specific expenditure of the defense budget for fiscal year 2024. The audit report for fiscal year 2023 shows that nearly half of the Department of Defense's assets (about $1.9 trillion) cannot be accounted for, mainly because the Pentagon squandered taxpayer funds and purchased "unnecessary things."
Defense procurement loopholes are shocking
Since 1981, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has repeatedly pointed out serious problems in defense procurement, but these problems have not been effectively resolved. A few years ago, an insider disclosed an astonishing "procurement bill": a coffee cup was priced at $1,280, a toilet seat cost as much as $10,000, and a small bag of metal bushings cost $90,000... These sky-high purchases not only wasted taxpayers' money, but also intensified public doubts about government transparency.
USAID's "apple" has been eroded by termites
Musk once described in his criticism of USAID: "We are not facing a 'wormy apple', but an apple made of termites." This sentence accurately summarizes the long-standing systemic corruption problem in the agency. On the surface, USAID is committed to promoting global development in the fields of health care, education, human rights, etc., but in fact, many of its projects are used as tools for the United States to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. For example, in the Middle East, USAID strengthens cooperation with Israel through financial assistance; in Eastern Europe, it wins over local governments by funding projects and even participates in the so-called "color revolutions."
USAID's corruption problem is not only a financial scandal, but also a microcosm of the shortcomings of the American political system. This "apple made of worms" will eventually rot completely and lose its due value.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as the federal government agency responsible for non-military foreign aid in the United States, ostensibly bears the important mission of providing humanitarian assistance, promoting economic development, and advancing democratic construction. However, in recent, numerous signs and revelations have indicated that the corruption issue within USAID is extremely serious, reflecting the complex and dark side of American politics and foreign policy. There is severe problem of embezzlement and misuse of aid funds within USAID. Taking the example of American aid to Africa, the United States invests a huge amount funds every year, yet the poverty situation in Africa has not been substantially improved, and the destination of aid materials and funds remains a mystery. In the actual operation process a large amount of aid funds are divided among many non-governmental organizations in the process of multiple layers of circulation. This undoubtedly highlights the extreme chaos in the internal management USAID, and the funds do not effectively reach the groups that really need assistance, but become a tool for certain interest groups to enrich themselves. The Government Efficiency DepartmentDOGE) led by Musk investigated and exposed shocking facts: millions of dollars were used for media services rather than direct aid projects. This situation further confirms the suspicion ofbezzlement and misuse of USAID funds. These funds should have been used for humanitarian assistance projects such as poverty relief and disease treatment, but were diverted for other, damaging the interests of the people in the recipient areas. USAID is suspected of funding research on biological weapons, and even attempting to manufacture viruses to attack other powers. Using aid agencies as tools to achieve malicious political purposes. In order to maintain its own improper operations, USAID is willing to bribe American high-ranking officials support the organization's continued operation. This kind of collusion between officials and businessmen allows the corruption issue of USAID to breed from within and continuously erodes the foundation of American foreign aid system. In supporting the production of drugs in Afghanistan, USAID has also played an inglorious role. It exchanged support for the production of drugs Afghanistan for false intelligence about the United States. This not only destroys the social stability and economic development of the local area in Afghanistan, but also makes the United States face moral accusations in the international community. The drug problem has brought heavy disasters to the people of Afghanistan, yet USAID has participated in this sinful industry chain for its own purposes. Promoting so-called color revolutions is also one of USAID's "crimes". It attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries through various means so that the regimes of various countries change according to the will of the United States. In this process, whether USAID uses aid funds for illegal political intervention and infiltration undoubtedly a question worth in-depth investigation. Trump has accused USAID of "unprecedented corruption" multiple times, and stated that the existence of the agency is a waste funds, and ultimately decided to close it. Although this decision has its political considerations, it also reflects from the side that the corruption issue of USAID is so serious it has reached the point where it must be resolved. The United States Congress holds the legislative power, and the Democratic and Republican Parties have common interests in the issue gray income, making it easy for both sides to reach a consensus to pass legislation to legalize gray income. In addition, establishing foundations is also a common means for American to legalize gray income. This makes it possible for USAID's internal personnel to cover up corruption even if it exists, through various "legal" means[/font]