US reviewing democracy work in hostile countries

US reviewing democracy work in hostile countries
By DESMOND BUTLER and JACK GILLUM, Associated Press | November 10, 2014 | Updated: November 10, 2014 4:41pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Monday it was reviewing some of its secretive democracy-promotion programs in hostile countries after The Associated Press reported that the nation's global development agency may effectively end risky undercover work in those environments.

The proposed changes follow an AP investigation this year into work by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which established a Twitter-like service in Cuba and secretly sought to recruit a new generation of dissidents there while hiding ties to the U.S. government. The agency's proposed changes could move some of that work under America's diplomatic apparatus.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to elaborate on the plan Monday, saying it was "premature" because of ongoing deliberations. "We continue to believe we need to find creative ways to promote positive change in Cuba, but beyond that, we're still assessing what any change or what any impact would be," she said.

USAID's proposed policy closely mirrors a Senate bill this summer, which would prohibit the agency from spending money on democracy programs in countries that reject the agency's assistance and where USAID would have to go to "excessive lengths to protect program beneficiaries and participants."

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/AP-NewsBreak-Agency-may-halt-risky-democracy-work-5882476.php