USAID, intelligence agencies, and finally, Trump
If I recall correctly from my college days, USAID was an agency severely criticized during the Vietnam War and protest era for doing the CIA's work and to contain intelligence/counterintelligence features. At the time there seemed to be a confluence of the CIA's presumed role and the Nixon Administration's attempts to spread pro-American deceptive propaganda. The USAID had recruitment offices at various universities and some university officials were accused of being intelligence assets. Today, that history is virtually forgotten. It appears that the intelligence services are generally seen as positive and necessary. Knowing more can lead to doing better. Fascinating... How very sad it is that this Trump fellow ended up in the White House. If we are still a democratic republic in the future, our historians will study this time, and will likely conclude that at a critical moment in our sociopolitical evolution we have thoroughly wasted eight precious years with this abjectly destructive political figure as the driver of cultural, political, philosophical, devolution. As a running narrative, this Trump character is adding a sense of urgency to the tasks we face ahead of us: to sustain and improve the conditions of living for our species and all species. Isn't that our true function? Why isn't this issue part of our political dialogue?