Cuts to USAID are short-sighted

Last week’s editor’s note by Conor Reilley “cautiously” praised DOGE’s dismantling of many federal government programs. Reilley gave special attention, and approval, to the cuts to USAID, the 61-year old federal agency founded to “further America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world.”

We, on the other hand, are dismayed by this administration’s actions as well as the manner in which they were executed.

The “soft power” — security and economic benefits that accrue from supplying foreign assistance — generated by USAID is invaluable. Its programs provide a lower-cost complement to the Pentagon’s hard power by broadening our influence overseas, and fill a void which otherwise would be occupied by China and Russia. Investments in economic empowerment and peacebuilding mitigate some drivers that impel people to join violent extremist groups. The returns on our investments may not be immediate, but they can be critical: Witness the positive effects of Bush’s anti-AIDS initiatives starting in 2001, which were instrumental in African countries collaborating with the U.S. in the war on terror.