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PaperclipPerfector  13d ago (text post)   29608 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 17, 2025

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I'm not sure how USIP can reasonably be described as a "private" organization given:

The Board shall consist of fifteen voting members as follows: (1) The Secretary of State (or if the Secretary so designates, another officer of the Department of State who was appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate). (2) The Secretary of Defense (or if the Secretary so designates, another officer of the Department of Defense who was appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate). (3) The president of the National Defense University (or if the president so designates, the vice president of the National Defense University).

Further, in its own 2023 Congressional Budget Justification they request:

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is requesting $54,000,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, equivalent to the enacted FY 2022 level, to promote peace in accordance with its congressional mandate to help prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict abroad. Throughout its nearly forty years as a public institute, USIP has played a significant role in national security, working in partnership with U.S. departments and agencies to help prevent and resolve conflicts in countries where U.S. strategic interests are at stake.

USIP presents itself as something a little more than think tank, but less than full blown diplomatic corps. Funded by Congress, so non-profit yes. Private? I don't think so. It's an NGO, minus the non- requirement. In the Justification PDF I can find a few reasons why it'd be targeted.

"Recognizing that religious freedom and coexistence are fundamental to stability and peace in all countries, USIP is providing specialized guidance to the State Department and USAID to help strengthen engagement with religious communities and advance religious freedoms in countries facing violence and fragility"

"Committed to building and mentoring a new generation of peace activists, USIP is funding and guiding community level peacebuilding projects led by youth in more than a dozen countries, including in Colombia, Venezuela, Tunisia, Libya, the Israel-Palestinian Territories, Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan."

"Awards: USIP has established the annual Women Building Peace Award to celebrate the role that women play in all aspects of peacebuilding and is renewing the Spark M. Matsunaga Medal of Peace, which has been bestowed on Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter."

Standard fare. I don't see anything particularly woke in their "classroom materials" though this is unlikely to be a primary function which is supported by the (dated) learning modules.

They do have their 2025 Justification out which is about the same as the 2023 one. 2023 was just the first result. In 2025 they say:

Dialogue: USIP experts currently facilitate more than 100 conflict-related dialogues and informal channels across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Specialized dialogues, the composition of which varies depending on conflict dynamics, are underway in 20 strategically important countries and regions including Cameroon, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Armenia, Mindanao, Papua New Guinea, and Ukraine. “Structured dialogues,” which USIP pioneered a decade ago and are used to reduce violence and build confidence between citizens and security officials, are underway in 14 countries

USIP appears to be general blobbery. Maybe it is CIA spooky, but who can say? Small amount of funding at 55 million/yr to create reports and contribute something to US diplomacy and propaganda efforts. The claim that they maintain active dialogues and "informal" channels in 100 different conflicts sounds substantial. It is a justification after all. Might provide comfortable sinecures for blob affiliates to do think tanky legwork or diplomacy for Congressmen. They might do so in a way that is more convenient, more discrete, or more something than dealing with the State Department. Another set of eyes and ears to the ground with another set of mouths to spread the good word.

Any or all of the above would be on brand for targeting by this administration. Consolidate all the various diplomatic blobbery under the State Department, steamroll resistance, and probably destroy quite a bit on the way.

Would someone from DOGE or the administration be able to articulate why any of these things are bad beyond "they're woke"?

Yes, probably. I hope so at least.

Can they explain why advancing "religious freedoms in countries facing violence and fragility" is against the interests of the U.S. government by citing to specific examples of work that USIP was engaged in on this front or arguing that that USIP was not actually engaged in this work?

Presumably they think that they are either doing a bad job of it or not actually doing this job-- or, they consider this redundant because of other government organs.

but did they analyze the actual work of USIP to see if any of it it aligns with any of the goals of the Trump administration?

I doubt they looked at their work very carefully, no. We can't know. It might be a case where there is not much tangible evidence of their work.

Did anyone from DOGE bother to talk to anyone from USIP about any of the work they actually do to assess whether some projects are worthwhile?

No idea.

The most likely explanation is that when DOGE asked about the work USIP tried to play the "private organization" card instead of answering questions.

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