Illustration showing a tool of US imperialism, National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Photo: Al-Mayadeen English.
By Bouthaina Shaaban – Aug 27, 2024
The word “waqf” in Arabic refers to the act of allocating funds for charitable purposes, where all profits generated are dedicated to orphans, the poor, and those in need. It is a system of community giving that if properly implemented, would ensure that no one is left poor or in need. The term has been most misused by Americans, who have allocated endowments to universities, institutions, banks, and civil society organizations, but often to advance their own objectives, which bear no relation to genuine community welfare and social solidarity. However, the greatest misuse of the term “waqf” is its application as a key term in the National Endowment for Democracy, which was established in 1981 during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who intended to promote his “Project Democracy” worldwide, and proposed a government-funded and privately run foundation to support alleged “democratic” movements abroad openly; movements that are financed and controlled by US intelligence to overthrow national governments and plunder their national resources.
One of the main objectives of NED, created in 1983, is to encourage the establishment and growth of democratic development in a manner consistent both with the broad US national interests and with the specific requirements of the democratic groups in other countries aided by programs funded by NED. Almost all of NED’s funds come from US Congress, which continues to pour billions of dollars into the Zionist Entity, supplying it with weapons of mass destruction and annihilation. In 2023, NED received an appropriation of $315 million. Consequently, the US government gained access to any information that NED obtains worldwide. Kim Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of State, argues that “Funding NED is a prudent investment because it is far less expensive to aid friendly democrats than it is to defend against hostile dictatorships.” NED has called for regime change in various countries through human rights movements, made extensive use of social media platforms, and funded NGOs for releasing multimedia content and providing online training, in a bid to instigate color revolutions.
NED has also run a reserve talent program for democratic transition in the region, funded NGOs to help “supporters of democracy,” so-called human rights activists, and dissidents in exile, and supported scholars and activists in plotting constitutional reforms in various countries. NED has also been funding scholars and journalists to promote “democratization reforms” in Iran and carry out cultural infiltration against the Islamic Republic.
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Moreover, NED has supported organizations like Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) and the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) and obstructed the electricity reform in Mexico. In all its endeavors, NED holds developing countries to the standard of American-style democracy and criticizes their presidential elections, economic policies, human rights implementation, and democratic transitions. Having classified leaderships in some countries as “dictatorships,” NED has continued to export American values to those countries through academic, cultural, and media activities. It has allocated generous funds to support “democracy activists,” slam the human rights record of those countries and stoke social tensions in the guise of promoting the freedom of the press. The US intervention in the Serbian presidential, national assembly and local elections in 2022 and 2023 is the most significant evidence of this.
NED has also enlisted European parliamentarians and think tank members in mobilizing “democratic forces” to open up the “frontline of democratic struggle in the East” (the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong). NED has long supported anti-China organizations and funded the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), smearing China’s ethnic policies and criticizing its regions; rehabilitation process with inhabit large ethnic minority populations.
In 2021, NED funded local NGO groups in Georgia to organize demonstrations in the capital Tbilisi. It also funded various entities to fabricate false narratives and misleading information in other countries, steering their public opinion to serve US agenda. For example, NED funded the Governance Center for Public Policies (GCPP) in Iraq, which released the National Index for Democratic Transformation reports in Iraq for six consecutive years, purposefully grading Iraq’s democracy index with low scores every time, and categorizing it as a “partial authoritarian transitional” country. The purpose for keeping the scores low is to justify continued US interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and the postponement of its military withdrawal. NED has also funded dozens of organizations in Kosovo, Ukraine, and the Philippines, focusing on researchers, academics, intellectuals, and journalists, and recruiting them to support and serve the American agenda in these countries under the pretext of promoting “democracy and human rights.”
In 2015, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement officially listing NED as an “undesirable organization” and banned its activities within Russian territory. In 2022, Russia’s Assistant Secretary of the Security Council Nail Mukhitov said that NED is mainly able to reach and affect young Russians, attempting to erode their patriotism and downplay the role of Russia in the modern world order.
The US maintains formal relations with governments it labels as dictatorships, and NED operates at a more discrete level to cultivate political forces that could ultimately replace these governments in the future. American administrations believe that NED can play a role in critical areas beyond the reach of official US programs. Thus, the primary goal of this organization is to intervene in the internal affairs of countries and attempt to shape their future in line with US interests.
At best, the United States seeks to reshape governments and peoples according to its own vision through perpetrating wars, societal upheavals, and all forms of ethnic, racial, and national conflicts that it creates to ultimately achieve its goal. This is however an expected outcome of US policies given that the US government had been built on the ruins of a civilization it annihilated. However, what is truly disgraceful is that this regime, the very successor of the killing of millions of Indigenous people, is now on top of what is called the global order, leading and controlling it. This is why the genocide in Gaza is still ongoing, for the US is supporting it militarily and politically.
“Democracy” and “human rights” are blatant pretexts used by NED and other American institutions to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries and impose brutal sanctions. Every country should be free to choose a system that reflects its own culture, components, and aspirations. This is precisely what President Xi Jinping of China advocates; he believes that we are all united in our shared humanity and that we should engage in constructive dialogue that serves the greater good of all, based on mutual respect, equality, and a sincere commitment to advancing humanity.
Eventually, the era of those manipulators will end, and a multipolar world order featuring emerging powers from the East will lead the way. Only then human dignity and the equal right of every person to enjoy a peaceful and respectful life will be ensured.
Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban is a Syrian politician and political and media advisor to President Bashar al-Assad.
