Free Republic

A $90 million contract to build up the Iraqi national education bureaucracy has been awarded to the Washington, D.C.-based firm Creative Associates International, which likewise will be tasked with the standardization of teacher training systems across that nation. As U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor reported earlier this year (April 16, 2012), the U.S. Agency for International Development launched the Arabic-themed USAID/Ajyal (“generations”) initiative to bring about “systems improvements to deliver quality instruction and safe learning environments.” The program will pay special attention to “expanding educational opportunities for girls, and other vulnerable populations and minorities so that they might enjoy higher...

The Obama Administration is unfolding its latest plan to address lackluster economic growth, an action it seeks to accomplish partly by reforming national trade policies and regulations. National, that is, specific to the nation of the Philippines, where the U.S. Agency for International Development has launched yet another program to help improve the ability of that country’s business sector to compete internationally. The Trade‐Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) project, as the endeavor is known, is the latest effort of the U.S.-Philippine “Partnership for Growth,” or PFG , according to a solicitation that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor located during routine...

The following is a quick rundown of several recently unveiled foreign aid contracts and projects through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Links to additional information can be accessed by clicking through to the Monitor website.:THE PHILIPPINES: USAID may spend up $43.5 million over five years to promote tourism and agribusiness in the Philippines. The Advancing Philippine Competitiveness, or COMPETE, Project seeks to "contribute to higher growth through the better provision of infrastructure, increased competitiveness of key industries, and increased access to credit," according to a modified solicitation released Sept. 21. The agency is accepting proposals through Nov. 2 (Solicitation...

The Russian government gave the US until 1 October to close the mission, accusing it of meddling in politics. USAID has worked in Russia for two decades, spending nearly $3bn (£1.8bn) on aid and democratic programmes. The expulsion follows a government crackdown on pro-democracy groups. USAID was due to spend around $50m on its work in Russia this year. The head of Golos, Liliya Shibanova called it "a bad signal", saying there were very few other sources of funding for election monitoring groups, and that she expected to see other NGOs leaving Russia.

With $83 million in Indonesian education projects, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is looking to hire a local citizen as an Education Specialist to assist in these initiatives.The local-hire only position, which requires prior teaching experience and/or a college degree, entails information dissemination responsiblities to promote USAID as well as to offer consultation to U.S. government employees, Indonesian officials, and NGO personnel involved in USAID education activities. The selected candidate will help support the Prioritizing Reform, Innovation and Opportunities for Reaching Indonesia’s Teachers, Administrators, and Students, or PRIORITAS, program. PRIORITAS, as U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor previously reported,...

Although the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to create programs that “improve the health of the Nation,” the Obama Administration apparently is taking liberties with which nation the NIH should be helping. Indeed, a project aimed at influencing parental decision making—attempted via songs, stories, and posters encouraging “consistent shoe wearing” in Ethiopia—reveals the notion of “the Nation” is open to interpretation.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad. In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters witness said. Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the fortress-like...

SNIPPET: "On Friday, Mubarak Hamed, the former director of the now defunct Islamic American Relief Agency-USA (IARA) based in Columbia, Missouri, pled guilty to three counts of a federal indictment charging that he illegally sent more than a million dollars to Iraq in violation of U.S. sanctions, conspiracy, and tax violations. Federal agents raided IARA's offices in 2004, seized its assets, and said it was part of a global network of similar Islamic charities that supported terrorist organizations. As part of his plea agreement, Hamed admitted the U.S.-based charity was part of this international network, with the IARA branch based...

Five-and-a-half million textbooks destined for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders in Ethiopia are being provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which today revealed that it awarded a $5.9 million contract to a South African company for the material. Kadimah Education, an affiliate of the Cape Town-based Kadimah Trading Corporation, within 90 days must deliver the books -- whose covers and inside jackets are to be adorned with the Ethiopian flag as well as the logos of USAID and AAMU (Alabama A&M University). AAMU in 2009 received a separate $13 million grant for an Ethiopian literacy project, which...

Obama's USAID says information suddenly 'for internal purpose only'Publicly available documents revealing the Obama administration’s unwieldy portfolio of Kenyan projects – which includes a formal plan to manipulate Kenyan and global media – have been removed from a federal contracting database, WND has discovered. The sanitizing of the FedBizOpps system follows a series of WND reports on what the U.S. Agency for International Development itself has described as an “exponential increase” in U.S.-funded initiatives in the African nation. WND additionally broke the story on a USAID propaganda initiative to sway how “opinion leaders” – including those in the media –...

The federal agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid is now hiring workers to combat negative news media and promote positive spin about its Afghanistan operations. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is enlisting private-sector assistance to “lead rapid response efforts to correct erroneous or misleading news accounts.” The agency on Tuesday re-launched its recruitment of a senior press liaison, who among other tasks must embark upon “aggressive outreach efforts” and “forge productive relationships” with international as well as Afghan news organizations, according to a Personal Services Contract, or PSC, notice – Solicitation #SOL-306-12-000025-01/OPPD – that WND located the...

The U.S. government is embarking upon an audit of over 35,000 public schools in order to assess the extent of educational technology deployment—the extent of deployment, that is, in schools across The Philippines. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday announced that it awarded a $280,000 contract to carry out the project, formally known as “Understanding the State of the Art of Information and Communications Technology for Education (ICT4E) in the Philippines – An Assessment.” The award (#AID-492-C-12-00006) went to the Filipino firm Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Inc. (FIT-ED), a Makati City, Philippines-based non-profit organization. The...

The damage caused by the global financial crisis requires additional federal intervention, according to the Obama Administration, which is launching a new program to “foster growth and stability at a time of increasing economic turmoil.” This particular endeavor, however, will focus its efforts on improving conditions in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and the “newly independent states,” or NIS, of the former Soviet Union. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is designing this Europe & Eurasia (E&E) regional project in order to “promote trade, investment and regulatory integration; enhance regional competitiveness, and support financial sector stability.” The agency did...

The violence in northern Nigeria is mistakenly viewed as a religious conflict rather than simply a tribal dispute over land, according to the Obama administration. Despite the ongoing Muslim destruction of churches and the slaughter of Christians – including many murdered during worship services – the U.S. Agency for International Development claims that the misunderstandings make it difficult to administer aid programs. USAID, therefore, has launched a program titled Project PEACE – an acronym for Programming Effectively Against Conflict and Extremism.

Hamas’ Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, criticized on Friday the U.S. decision to provide Israel with aid to purchase additional Iron Dome batteries. According to a report on Kol Yisrael radio, Haniyeh made the comments to pro-Palestinian Authority activists from several Arab and Muslim countries. Haniyeh claimed that providing aid to Israel will encourage it “to continue its war crimes.” On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the United States will immediately give Israel $70 million for additional Iron Dome batteries. Washington has already given Israel $205 million for the Iron...

A company jointly led by a former Exxon researcher and a one-time U.S. government official recently secured a contract to assess potential U.S. investments into Libyan industry, specifically the power-generation sector. The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), an independent White House entity, selected Energy Markets Group (EMG) to carry out a “definitional mission,” or DM, to Libya. EMG will travel to Libya, evaluate that industry segment, and craft a report for USTDA either recommending or rejecting possible “investments” of additional funds to boost Libyan modernization efforts. EMG’s president is Ahmad Ghamarian, formerly an Exxon Research and Engineering Company staffer....

The United Arab Emirates embassy in the U.S. a little while ago bragged in a tweet that "UAE participated with US in 5 coalition actions in 20 years: Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Bosnia-Kosovo, Gulf War." U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor in response poses the question, "Does that possibly explain why the U.S. Agency for International Development is planning to build a 47 km. pipeline extension in the former Soviet republic of Georgia -- a project whose goal is to promote the UAE-owned Poti Free Industrial Zone near the Black Sea?" Just a thought. Related: "U.S.-Financed Pipeline Benefiting UAE Royal Family Moves...

The U.S is moving forward with plans to help finance a gas pipeline-extension benefiting United Arab Emirate royals. As U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor reported late last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) intends to provide an unspecified level of financial support to build the 47 kilometer natural-gas pipeline in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The agency claims that the Kutaisi-Abasha project, as it is known, will provide “energy security” in the region. The endeavor as originally described was to promote the development of the Poti Free Industrial Zone on the Black Sea coast, “and secure power...

It’s been five weeks since the Obama administration granted Egypt its full $1.3 billion in annual military aid despite its government’s failure to meet conditions set by Congress for advancing democracy. In granting a waiver on national security grounds, administration officials argued that continuing the funding was more likely to encourage cooperation with the United States and progress on human rights than a cutoff would. As it turns out, the administration was wrong. In a number of tangible ways, U.S.-Egyptian relations and the military’s treatment of civil society have deteriorated since the waiver was issued March 23. The threat to...

Improving "private sector competitiveness" as well as increasing access to financing will help drive "sustainable economic growth" while reducing poverty, according to the Obama Administration. Consequently, it is launching the Finance and Business Services (FaBS) Project to achieve such goals -- in Ethiopia. The U.S. must step in to help because of the global economic downturn and the restrictive economic policies enacted in response to those changes, according to Solicitation #SOL-663-12-000013: Despite impressive growth over the past 5-7 years, Ethiopia’s private sector continues to struggle as a result of an inefficient business climate as well as a number of firm/industry...