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WH reportedly considers restrictions on foreign aid, dependent on treatment of religious minorities

November 12, 2019 | | Print Article
(White House video screenshot)

Liberal Democrats are fuming over reports that President Donald Trump is mulling plans to begin conditioning the release of foreign aid on whether or not the recipient country treats its religious minorities well.

“The proposal is expected to cover U.S. humanitarian assistance, and could also be broadened to include American military aid to other countries,” Politico reported Monday, citing two unnamed White House officials.

“If the proposal becomes reality, it could have a major effect on U.S. assistance in a range of places, from Iraq to Vietnam. Its mere consideration shows how much the White House prioritizes religious freedom.”

Not to mention the concerns of minorities both here and abroad.

Yet for reasons that remain unclear, the report by Politico has triggered fury and outrage among the same sort of liberal Democrats who claim to care so deeply about the concerns and well-being of minorities (even the murderous ones).

Observe:

The mainline of attack appeared to be the factually inaccurate claims that, one, Trump has blocked Muslims from immigrating to the United States (FALSE), and two, America is in no position to demand other nations treat religious minorities right because it mistreats its own religious minorities (FALSE).

According to U.S. News & World Report’s “2019 Best Countries” survey, America ranks in 5th place for religious freedom among all countries. Newsweek has likewise dubbed religious freedom “America’s greatest export.”

Politico’s sources have reportedly stressed that the plan is still in its early stages and that the administration is considering other options as well.

“One said that imposing sanctions also is being weighed as a method of punishment. The other said the idea is patterned in part on existing U.S. legal requirements that restrict aid to countries that do poorly on an annual U.S. report on human trafficking,” the outlet reported.

The left has in recent days also taken to complaining about foreign aid that’s been directed to religious minorities versus their host countries.

Last week, for instance, The Washington Post cited a new investigation from the far-left self-described “watchdog” group ProPublica that found that Vice President Mike Pence’s office has been redirecting foreign aid to Iraqi Christian groups so as to meet a campaign promise.

“Iraqi Christians are persecuted, but they make up roughly 3 percent of the total population; singling them out could inflame religious tensions rather than protect them,” the Post lamented.

It seemed as if the Post was saying that, because helping the Christian minorities in Iraq who face rape and murder could upset the nation’s Muslim majority population, said minorities shouldn’t be helped. Moreover, helping said minorities counts as a “misuse of U.S. foreign aid,” the paper alleged.

The U.S. Agency for International Development, an independent U.S. agency that handles foreign aid concerns, has disputed the latter claim.

“The Trump Administration has made responding to the genocide committed by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) against religious and ethnic minorities a top priority,” the group’s spokesperson said to ProPublica.

“Assistance to religious and ethnic communities targeted by ISIS is not a departure from the norm, but rather a continuation of USAID’s rich history of promoting inclusive development and defending human dignity and religious freedom in our partner countries.”

Nevertheless, members of the left have reacted to this report with as much fire and fury as they reacted to the news from Politico.

Look:

So much for caring about minorities.

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Vivek Saxena
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