U.S. foreign aid freeze derails efforts to stem proliferation risks | Hacker News Reader

U.S. foreign aid freeze derails efforts to stem proliferation risks

science.org

18 pointslmc9 comments

Non-proliferation has been dead for at least a decade. (Great article I can’t find right now in Le Monde Diplo.)

The screaming nail the coffin was our reaction to Ukraine, where Russia’s nukes dominated the conversation, versus Iran, where their non-existent nukes did not. Ukraine was proven stupid trading its nukes for empty promises. The world saw and learned.

Russia is the most prolific nuclear power.

It remains to be seen what will happen with lesser ones. The entire world combined has fewer than a third of either the Russian or American arsenals (by number of weapons).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_we...

This goes far beyond "nuclear proliferation." It's about medical, pathogen research. The Wuhan lab for coronavirus was also backed by the US to study such viruses.

Proliferation is also about vaccination and HIV prevention, etc. USAID et al. are among the most important programs in development and prevention worldwide. This is a tragedy chosen by a majority of Americans because what goes around comes around. COVID showed again that pandemics don't stop at borders.

Especially when they escape from laboratory doing gain of function funded with their own money.

The deeper rumours say it was spread intentionally and blamed on China.

Nuclear terrorism hasn't been a trope in mass media for about 10 years, and 20 years since Graham Allison's book Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe. This book convinced Warren Buffett that it was a serious problem. And, that's what's so stupid about ending aid unilaterally without understanding the totality of implications of doing so. When a mushroom cloud sprouts over Los Angeles, it won't be the plot device of 24 anymore and nothing will be able to change what coulda, shoulda, or woulda been possible after-the-fact.

For good or ill USAID was a CIA front.

Title plays with the word aid from the now dismantled United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which is a channel to stem projects in favor to the US worldwide. Maybe Trump didn't understand the value of it or is principally against such methods. From the track record of U.S. AID the world is a better place without it.

Al least they are admitting foreign aids is about having US advantage over others, and not helping others with "security". I think Trump could not tell the difference. There must be other plans in the making to replace "foreign aids”.

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