Can the Remnants of USAID Be Merged Successfully into the State Department?

 The Center for Strategic and International Studies published on 25 March 2025 an analysis titled "How to Successfully Merge USAID and the Department of State" by Daniel F. Runde.  

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department will administer what remains of USAID programs.  The author notes that numerous other aid donor countries have followed this pattern, and the US could learn from them.  The author then proposes a number of steps needed to merge State and USAID successfully.

Comment:  This scenario makes some sense if done thoughtfully and in advance of the dismantlement of USAID.  It holds little chance of succeeding after USAID has been dismantled and its personnel dispersed unless the goal is to retain virtually nothing of former American foreign aid programs. 

At the turn of the last century, the United States Information Service (USIA) merged with State and became the public affairs division of State.  It was done methodically, thoughtfully, and with great effort to preserve most of its former programs.  But even in this case, the State Department public affairs division has never lived up to the success of the former USIA. 

Joint Western Statement on Hostilities in Northern Ethiopia

 The governments of Australia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States issued on 12 October 2022 a "Joint Statement on Resumption of Hostilities in Northern Ethiopia."

The statement calls "on the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray regional authorities to immediately halt their military offensives, agree to a cessation of hostilities, allow for unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, and pursue a negotiated settlement through peace talks under an African Union-led process.  We also condemn the escalating involvement of Eritrean military forces in northern Ethiopia.  We call on Eritrean forces to cease their military operations and withdraw from northern Ethiopia."

Joint Statement on Detentions in Ethiopia

 The United States and several Western governments released a "Joint Statement on Detentions in Ethiopia" on 6 December 2021.

The statement expressed profound concern at reports "of the Ethiopian government's detention of large numbers of Ethiopian citizens on the basis of their ethnicity and without charge."  It also expressed grave concern "at ongoing reports of atrocities being committed by all parties to the conflicts."

Chinese Port Projects in Walvis Bay, Namibia (in French)

The China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is building a container terminal and an oil terminal at Walvis Bay in Namibia. A Chinese paper published a long interview in Chinese with Feng Yuanfei, CHEC director in Namibia and chief of project. The Chine-Afrique website recently posted a translation in French of the interview titled "Apprentissage, internationalisation, indigenisation" courtesy of Thierry Pairault, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.

Interview with Somaliland Sun

Mahmud Walaleye of the Somaliland Sun asked me to respond to several questions concerning Somaliland.  The interview appeared in the 3 May 2013 edition under the title "Somaliland: Country Urged to Capitalize on the Flexibility of the UK and Danish Governments."