It was almost ten years ago when, before the House International Relations
Committee, I objected to the US Government funding NGOs to meddle in the internal
affairs of Ukraine. At the time the "Orange Revolution" had forced a regime
change in Ukraine with the help of millions of dollars from Washington.
At that time I told the
Committee:
We do not know exactly how many millions -- or tens of millions -- of dollars
the United States government spent on the presidential election in Ukraine.
We do know that much of that money was targeted to assist one particular
candidate, and that through a series of cut-out non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) -- both American and Ukrainian -- millions of dollars ended up in
support of the presidential candidate...
I was worried about millions of dollars that the US government-funded National
Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its various related organizations spent to
meddle in Ukraine's internal affairs. But it turns out that was only the tip
of the iceberg.
Last December, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland gave a speech in
which she admitted that since 1991 the US government has:
[I]nvested more than 5 billion dollars to help Ukraine...in the development
of democratic institutions and skills in promoting civil society and a good
form of government.
This is the same State Department official who was caught on tape just recently
planning in detail the overthrow of the Ukrainian government.
That five billion dollars appears to have bought a revolution in Ukraine.
But what do the US taxpayers get, who were forced to pay for this interventionism?
Nothing good. Ukraine is a bankrupt country that will need tens of billions
of dollars to survive the year. Already the US-selected prime minister has
made a trip to Washington to ask for more money.
And what will the Ukrainians get? Their democracy has been undermined by the
US-backed coup in Kiev. In democracies, power is transferred peacefully through
elections, not seized by rebels in the streets. At least it used to be.
The IMF will descend on Ukraine to implement yet another of its failed rescue
plans, which enrich the well-connected and international bankers at the expense
of the local population. The IMF adds debt, organizes sweetheart deals for
foreign corporations, and demands that the local population accept "austerity" in
exchange for "reform" that never seems to produce the promised results.
The groundwork for this disaster has been laid by NED, USAID, and the army
of NGOs they have funded over the years in Ukraine.
Supporters of NED and its related organizations will argue that nothing is
wrong with sending US dollars to "promote democracy" overseas. The fact is,
however, that NED, USAID, and the others have nothing to do with promoting
democracy and everything to do with destroying democracy.
It is not democracy to send in billions of dollars to push regime change overseas.
It isn't democracy to send in the NGOs to re-write laws and the constitution
in places like Ukraine. It is none of our business.
How should we promote democracy overseas? First, we should stop the real isolationists
-- those who seek to impose sanctions and blockades and restrictions that impede
our engagement overseas. We can promote democracy with a US private sector
that engages overseas. A society that prospers through increased trade ties
with the US will be far more likely to adopt practices and policies that continue
that prosperity and encourage peace.
In 2005, arguing against funding NED in the US foreign assistance authorization
bill, I said:
The National Endowment for Democracy...has very little to do with democracy.
It is an organization that uses US tax money to actually subvert democracy,
by showering funding on favored political parties or movements overseas.
It underwrites color-coded 'people's revolutions' overseas that look more
like pages out of Lenin's writings on stealing power than genuine indigenous
democratic movements.
Sadly, matters are even worse now. To promote democracy overseas, NED and
all other meddling US government funded NGOs should be disbanded immediately.
