For years, critics of US foreign aid have pointed to instances where American taxpayer dollars have indirectly ended up in the hands of terrorist organizations. The well-documented cases of United States Agency for International Development funds being exploited by groups with extremist ties have fueled calls to dismantle the agency.
However, while these concerns are legitimate, an abrupt removal of USAID would create a dangerous vacuum – one that nations like Qatar, a known financier of terrorist groups, would eagerly fill. The result? More terror, not less.
There is no shortage of evidence that US foreign aid has, at times, been misused. USAID, despite its stated mission of promoting development and stability, has had funds siphoned off by terrorist-affiliated entities worldwide.
In Gaza, for example, millions of dollars meant for humanitarian relief have been funneled into Hamas’s terror infrastructure. In 2016, it was revealed that Hamas had infiltrated a major humanitarian NGO, using millions in US aid money to build terror tunnels and fund weapons purchases.
Similar cases have emerged in Afghanistan, where billions of dollars in aid meant to rebuild the country were lost to corruption, with some funds making their way into the hands of the Taliban.
The transnational Salafi Jihadist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia has also repeatedly exploited international aid efforts, imposing “taxes” on aid convoys and using food shipments as leverage to control local populations.
These scandals have prompted calls for the agency’s complete dismantlement. Critics argue that the US should not be funding programs that can be exploited by America’s enemies and that alternative, more secure ways of providing aid should be considered. Still, before slamming the door shut on USAID, one must ask: Who will step in to fill the void? The answer is chilling.
While the US is often criticized for its mis-allocated aid, another player lurks in the background, deliberately financing terror on a global scale: Qatar. Unlike accidental mismanagement by USAID, Doha’s funding of terrorist organizations is intentional and strategic.
Qatar has poured billions into Hamas, propping up the terror group’s rule in Gaza. While Doha claims this aid is for “humanitarian” purposes, Israeli intelligence has repeatedly exposed how Qatari funds are used to pay Hamas fighters, produce rockets, and dig terror tunnels into Israel. In many cases, Qatari “aid” does not even reach the people of Gaza – it flows directly into Hamas’s war machine.
Qatar was also instrumental in facilitating the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. For years, Taliban leaders operated freely from Doha, negotiating with Western officials while simultaneously plotting their military takeover.
Since the US withdrawal, Qatar has positioned itself as Afghanistan’s primary foreign benefactor, ensuring that the Taliban regime remains financially secure despite international sanctions. Reports have linked Qatar to al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra.
While the US and its allies sought to support moderate opposition forces against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Qatar funneled money to extremist factions, helping them gain influence on the battlefield. Doha’s involvement in Africa has grown significantly, with the Gulf state funding Islamist factions in Libya and Sudan.
As instability continues to grip the Sahel region, Qatari-backed extremist groups have seized the opportunity to expand their operations, threatening regional security.
Using foreign aid as a tool
WHILE USAID has its flaws, it also serves as a counterbalance to hostile foreign influence. The US uses aid as a tool of soft power, ensuring that American interests are at least represented in fragile regions. If the agency were to disappear, it wouldn’t mean that aid stops flowing – it would simply come from different, more dangerous sources.
Beyond Qatar, China and Russia are eager to expand their influence in aid-dependent nations. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has already ensnared several developing countries in debt traps, using “infrastructure aid” as a means of political control.
Meanwhile, Russia has capitalized on instability in Africa, offering military and financial support to regimes willing to align with Moscow’s interests. If the US pulls out of the aid game, it will lose a critical foreign policy tool. The absence of American influence would allow adversarial powers to dictate the future of entire regions. Nations once aligned with the West could find themselves economically dependent on terror-linked regimes or authoritarian states.
A US retreat from aid efforts would not only damage American influence but also make the world more dangerous.
Terror organizations thrive in environments where alternative sources of support exist. If Qatar, China, or Russia replaces USAID as the primary benefactor in certain regions, extremist groups will find it even easier to operate and expand.
The solution to the agency’s shortcomings is not dismantlement but reform. The US must acknowledge past mistakes and implement stricter measures to prevent funds from reaching terrorist hands. Strengthening monitoring mechanisms will ensure that funds are going where they are supposed to while cutting off organizations with even the slightest ties to terror groups.
Instead of sending aid through potentially corrupt intermediaries, Washington should increase direct funding to trusted local organizations and expand partnerships with allies who share counterterrorism goals. Furthermore, aid recipients should be required to actively combat terrorism within their borders, with automatic funding cuts for countries that allow US funds to be exploited.
The calls to dismantle USAID stem from real concerns, but the consequences of such a move could be catastrophic. The choice is not between US aid and no aid – it is between US aid and terror-backed aid. If Washington pulls the plug without a replacement strategy, Qatar and other hostile actors will step in, using their financial leverage to promote radicalism and expand their influence.
America must not surrender this terrain. The battlefield of aid is just as important as the battlefield of war. If the US abandons its role, it will not only lose global influence – it will hand victory to the very forces it seeks to defeat.
The writer, a Middle East Forum fellow, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco.