USAID has been active in Iraq since 2003, providing humanitarian
assistance, economic development and conflict management, as here in
2008 supporting Shiite Baghdadis and their Sunni neighbours after they
had been occupied by ISIS [photo credit: Hugh Sykes]
On January 24, the State Department issued a press release
announcing that “Secretary Rubio has paused all US foreign assistance
funded by or through the State Department and US Agency for
International Development (USAID) for review.” The process will examine
whether the programmes are “efficient and consistent with US foreign
policy under the America First agenda.” The order applies to nearly
every programme and country, including many of Washington’s closest
partners.
In one email communication, a USAID administrator told agency staff
that “the pause on all foreign assistance means a complete halt…Every
program will be thoroughly scrutinised.” The email further warned that
“failure to abide by this directive, or any of the directives sent out
earlier this week and in the coming weeks, will result in disciplinary action.”
Shortly after the directive became public, stop work orders began
arriving in email inboxes in Iraq. Several organisations told Arab
Digest that they received them within days of the order. Others found
out in subsequent weeks as the effect rippled out through contractors.
“I'm just hearing left, right, and centre that almost every single organisation is affected,” the expat NGO worker said.
At this point, civil society groups, international NGOs, and private
sector firms are still scrambling to make sense of the stop work orders
and what that means for their operations. For some, US funding
represents only a part of its income, but it is often a critical piece
of their financial portfolio.
“There’s not clarity yet, but there’s 100% layoffs,” the expat NGO
worker said. “It could have implications for non-US programmes because a
mass reduction in staffing will then have knock-on effects.”
“I imagine it’s a much more grim story for the individuals who were on the receiving end of this aid,” they added.
The pause and the review of aid programmes will have far-reaching
geopolitical effects and potentially harm the standing of the US with
some of its closest partners, including Iraq’s strategically important
Kurdistan Region.
“On behalf of all the people of Kurdistan, we congratulate President
Trump on his return to the White House,” KRG Prime Minister Masrour
Barzani said on January 20 at the Davos Forum in Switzerland.
“We hope for continued support in Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan, to
safeguard our region, and enhance economic growth,” he added.
It is hard to square that hope with Rubio’s order. While the
Kurdistan Region is not targeted specifically by the order—the effect is
being felt all over the world—it is hardly helpful.
The development industry is big business, particularly in Erbil. Aid
funding funnelled through UN agencies, international NGOs, and local
organisations provide thousands of stable and lucrative jobs. The money
that those workers spend indirectly supports thousands more.
“Most likely the large INGOs will just leave, consolidate their
budgets, and work in fewer places. The smaller NGOs and many Iraqi NGOs
that depend on foreign aid for their programming will likely shut down
permanently,” said the country director.
The country director felt that there will also be a reputational cost
for the Kurdistan Region if civil society stumbles as a result of
Washington’s decision to pull funding.
“For the KRG, I think it was even more important to be seen as
welcoming to international NGOs and a Western ally—the ‘friendly’
Iraq—while Baghdad’s desire to crush civil society has been more overt
in the last few years,” they said, arguing that this would be more
difficult to show now.
Withdrawing funding for humanitarian aid and civil society funding
comes as Washington is moving to change its military footprint in Iraq.
The International Coalition will end its mission by 2026. That same year the Department of Defence’s Memorandum of Understanding to support Peshmerga reform in KRG will also expire, along with US funding.
While many people worry that this will provide an opportunity for Washington’s geopolitical competitors,
the immediate injury comes in the form of local impact. Good-paying
jobs are being lost, the vital voices in civil society will be muffled,
and those who need urgent humanitarian assistance will suffer.
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