Celebrating The Shutdown Of USAID, Outlet Linked To Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias: The Agency Of The Great Satan Is Dying

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Capitalizing on President Donlad Trump's administration decision to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq published, on February 11, 2025, a series of posters demonizing the work of the agency in Iraq.[1]

Titled "The Agency of the Great Satan for International Development Is Dying," the posters railed against USAID for advancing "destabilizing" projects in Iraq and the region, highlighting posts on X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk and by other commentators and users discussing allegation of USAID wasting taxpayers' money.

The posters also featured archival posts on X from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, in which she promoted USAID projects in Iraq. The posters suggested that these projects were harmful to Iraq.

One poster highlighted the agency's support for "suspicious" projects in Iraq, writing that USAID was "one of Washington's main weapons in its soft wars. The agency began its activity in Iraq in 2003, and was a tool of influence in the economic, social, and political fields."

It further claimed that Iraqi officials, such as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Environment, Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, had exposed the agency's agenda. It cited a statement in which he reportedly accused the agency of working "with local and Zionist organizations to plunder Iraq's wealth."

The poster also accused USAID of "funding a wide range of activities in Iraq, after its occupation; it calls for dividing it into sectarian states according to its American project in the region, and encourages separatist tendencies, just as it did in Syria with the aim of fragmenting it, years before the crisis erupted there."

"Kurdistan, Washington Institute Received Funds From USAID"

Another poster cited Hazem Ahmad Fadhalah, a pro-muqawama (resistance) strategist who runs the Telegram channel Kitabah wa Tahlil (Writings and Analysis), as saying that Musk is launching a campaign against the two of the "filthiest American organizations that have destroyed the world with their culture of obscenity, colorful coups, and support for extremism and crime, namely: the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)."

Fadhalah claimed that Iraq's Kurdistan region, which is under the administration of Kurdish leader Masoud Barazani, will suffer greatly, suggesting that the USAID had invested heavily in Erbil.

Barzani is seen as an opponent by the Iraqi militias, who want to frame him as an American agent.

Fadhalah also claimed that Michael Knights, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs related to Iran-backed militias, was also a recipient of USAID grants.

"All the embassy's children in Iraq and elsewhere lost their funding and no longer have any significant value," Fadhalah added.

"Houthis Were The First To Expose USAID"

A third poster said that Yemen's Ansarallah Movement (the Houthis) were the first to expose the USAID role in "supporting terrorism" when, in 2020, they identified weapons sent by the agency to rivals of the Houthis.