Counter-Terrorism & Conflict Stabilization
A project to send U.S. security experts to allied countries — “including Albania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and others — to help build out security operations centers, train security practitioners and enhance critical infrastructure defenses across the region” has been terminated.
NextGov/FCW, 02/27/2025
In Benin, a multiyear program to train the army for counterterrorism operations has been put on hold. Benin is a historically strong democracy recently under threat from al-Qaeda-linked militants.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
In Gaza and dozens of other crisis zones, the organization and delivery of emergency aid supplies, including food, tents, mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and medical treatments, will be slowed or halted due to cuts to the USAID Mideast team.
The New York Times, 02/07/2025
Demining operations for nearly 100 teams in Cambodia were partially suspended. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with three deaths already in 2025 and over 1,600 square kilometers of contaminated land.
AFP, 01/31/2025
A US contractor managing a program “to train and equip thousands of Syrians to act as a police force, and provide them with vehicles and equipment” was forced to halt operations. “One of the company’s most critical roles is providing security inside Al Hol camp [in northern Syria], which houses some 39,000 ISIS members, their families and refugees…”
The New York Times, 01/30/2025
The Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, designed to “improve the capacity of allies to respond to extremist threats,” has been suspended.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
“Contractors responsible for building and maintaining bases for U.S.-trained Somali special forces, known as Danab, left so abruptly that U.S. soldiers had to scramble to pick up the slack. Nearly 400 Danab graduates were left outside an American military base with no provision for food, fuel or electricity.”
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
Services including first responders, fuel for hospitals, and evacuation routes for refugees fleeing the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine have been halted.
ProPublica, 01/31/2025
A Virginia-based nonprofit had to stop work at the Al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. The nonprofit “handles aid distribution, electricity and latrines at the camps, and employs security guards for the camps’ warehouses and supply centers.” It also supports repatriation programs to reduce the number of refugees and limit “the potential for exploitation by ISIS.”
The New York Times, 01/30/2025
U.S. support, including drones for surveillance, detection and interdiction of al-Shabab militants along the Kenya-Somalia border have been suspended. A program to counter IEDs is also on hold.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
In Ukraine, six U.S.-funded projects to investigate Russian war crimes, valued at $89 million, are at risk. The projects include “the preservation of evidence from the battlefield to anti-corruption initiatives and reform of Ukraine's prosecution system.”
Reuters, 02/10/25
In Colombia, “at least three humanitarian organizations have suspended support operations for more than 41,000 people displaced by a recent outbreak of guerrilla violence.”
The Guardian, 01/30/2025
Supplies for front-line energy engineers in Ukraine — including body armor, armored vehicles, lights, communications equipment, winter clothing, and medical kits — are stuck in Poland. Deliveries of firewood to frontline Ukrainians were also halted in the middle of winter.
The New York Times, 01/28/2025
All funding to the Palestinian Authority, including for training and reform of the security forces, has stopped. Funding the building of a virtual shooting range, which is necessary because Israel will not permit the importation of bullets for live-fire training, has been frozen.
The Washington Post, 02/19/2025