US Defunds Mothers' Care, Funds Global Atrocities, Others Clean Up
While The Independent celebrates Ardern's 'rescue,' (a touching story, no doubt), the real headline missing is why a former, non-US head of state has to step in at all. The Trump administration, in its infinite wisdom, slashed foreign aid to programs like these – a mere pittance compared to the military budgets it consistently championed. For example, during Trump's presidency, the US approved
record-breaking arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia, totaling over $120 billion by 2019, according to the Arms Control Association, even as those arms fueled the devastating war in Yemen. So, while women die in childbirth, the US ensures others die by precision-guided bomb. One might wonder about the timing and priorities. It's a familiar script: the US cuts aid for essential services
abroad, only to funnel astronomical sums into 'security assistance' and weapons contracts. One hand creates humanitarian crises, the other profits from exacerbating conflicts that require 'humanitarian' intervention later. Donors and international figures then become feel-good headlines, conveniently distracting from the systemic defunding of crucial health and development projects for the benefit
of the military-industrial complex.