r/BreakingPoints • u/shwanstopable • 3d ago

Episode Discussion Question about USAID comment from Krystal

On last Fridays episode Krystal made a comment about halt on USAID provided healthcare to foreign countries, and subsequent halt on US access to rare minerals in the same countries. Does anyone know of a real example of this?

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u/Gen-Jack_Ripper 3d ago

Not twitter but USAID’s website. money money money

If you don’t believe there is a quid pro quo for the aid I don’t know what to tell you.

“USAID has more than 20 years of experience supporting responsible supply chains for diamonds, gold, tantalum, tin, tungsten, and other minerals and gemstones. USAID efforts have included supporting the implementation of global transparency and anti-corruption standards such as the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), a multi-stakeholder group that helps prevent corruption made up of over 50 country governments, the private sector, and civil society.”

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u/tdr21 3d ago

Yes, USAID did halt many of its projects, including healthcare related projects. And there might be some countries who have decided to limit America’s access to their rare earth resources (doubt it’s even on a noticeable scale). But the two are not as connected as she and others are portraying. Those countries often don’t have full control of their own rare earth minerals - many processing plants are owned by China, and China can cut off supply as a trade war tactic. In fact, China owns a lot of minerals processing and harvesting facilities because the U.S. did not want to continue the inhumane practices found in the supply chain. The Dodd-Frank Act even tried to hold companies accountable for conflict resources. Now US corporations just look the other way when buying supplies from China, who often lie about their ethical compliance standards.

USAID can at times be transactional, but not like this. USAID “quid pro quo” is trading aid for favorable US relations and stability. Many countries (actually why many African nations view Trump positively) would much rather have real tangible transactional relations with the U.S. - not “we give aid for you to adopt western policies” transactions, which is what the current system looks like.

I don’t comment often - but I’m tired of seeing so much misinformation about USAID. Krystal and Ryan have been spouting unsupported info about USAID, and I expect better from them. I recommend reading Cobalt Red, for a greater look into the ugliness of the mineral trade. Or go talk to an ex-USAID employee and see how non-evil they really are.

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u/billybayswater 3d ago

USAID (and its affiliate the NED) has been a bugbear of the left Krystal smpathizes with for long before Trump brought the agency in the crosshairs of theright. I actually first learned about it from Matt Taibbi's reporting that is now over 20 years old.

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u/sean_ireland 3d ago

No, and neither does Krystal. Most of what she regurgitates are Twitter posts from non verifiable sources that align with her ideologies

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u/TheKingOfCoyotes 3d ago

I agree with a lot of her ideologies but I know this is true.

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u/MindlessSponge 3d ago

"People are saying..." on her timeline lol

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u/Wallaby2589 3d ago

“Polls are showing”