In a shocking revelation, it has been discovered that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) once funded the college tuition of a man who would later become a central figure in al Qaeda.
This egregious misuse of taxpayer funds has been exposed through documents recently obtained by Fox News, which show that the agency paid for the education of American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki at Colorado State University.
According to the Daily Mail, the documents, unearthed by investigative journalists Catherine Herridge and Pamela Brown, reveal that USAID granted funding to al-Awlaki in June 1990 under the false pretense that he was a Yemeni national and thus qualified for an exchange visa. The document states that al-Awlaki was provided 'full funding' as a J-1 scholar due to his alleged Yemeni citizenship. However, al-Awlaki was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Yemeni parents and was raised in both the United States and Yemen.
The fraudulent claim was eventually discovered, leading to an arrest warrant for al-Awlaki on fraud charges in 2002. However, the warrant was later withdrawn, as reported by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. This shocking revelation of misused funds comes at a time when USAID is under scrutiny for its spending, with President Trump moving to shut down the agency.
The agency, which has been targeted by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency for its excessive spending, has been labeled a "criminal organization" by Musk. President Trump has also criticized the agency, calling it "run by radical lunatics." The file on al-Awlaki provides a stark example of how the agency's funds have been exploited.
The document from 1990 confirms that al-Awlaki was granted an exchange visa and that USAID was providing 'full funding' for his studies at Colorado State University. It incorrectly lists his birthplace as Sanaa, Yemen's capital, a deliberate falsehood reportedly encouraged by American officials who knew his father, so he could qualify for a scholarship reserved for foreign citizens.
After graduating from Colorado State University in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, al-Awlaki began working as a Muslim cleric in various U.S. cities. It was in a San Diego mosque where he met two members of the group that hijacked planes on September 11, 2001: Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.
Al-Awlaki's rhetoric grew increasingly radical, preaching that American television had spread immorality worldwide and that AIDS was a divine punishment from Allah. However, his secret solicitation of prostitutes eventually led to his downfall when FBI agents began questioning the women about his beliefs and actions.
Fearing exposure, al-Awlaki fled the country, living in the UK for several months before moving to Yemen, where his descent into extremism deepened. By the end of his life, he had become the chief propaganda officer for al Qaedas branch, encouraging violent jihad.
Al-Awlaki was arrested in 2006 on suspicion of having terrorist ties, as the United States considered him a terrorist sympathizer. He was released from prison in Yemen the following year, after a Yemeni security official claimed he repented. However, by 2009, he was linked to a shooting at Fort Hood and an attempted bombing on a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day. The Obama administration ultimately placed him on a target list, authorizing operations to capture or kill him. He was killed in a drone strike in 2011.
Years later, President Trump is planning to dismantle USAID and merge what remains with the State Department, following a freeze on most foreign aid on his first day in office. Some of the most egregious examples of USAID funding include millions to a COVID lab in China, $38 million to HIV research in transgenders, $2.5 for electric vehicles in Vietnam, and thousands for Peruvian trans comic books.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has taken over as acting head of the agency, has accused staff members of being "unwilling to answer simple questions" about its programs. He has informed Congress about the pending reorganization of the agency, stating that some parts of USAID might be absorbed by the State Department while others will be completely abolished.
However, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to put roughly 2,200 USAID employees on leave. The plan will remain in effect until at least February 14 as Trump continues to defend efforts to shutter the agency amid mass protests. "We have to solve the efficiency problem," the President told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview. "We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse - all the things that have gone into the government. You take a look at the USAID, the kind of fraud [is] there."
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