<
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/08/darren-beattie-us-institute-of-peace/>
"In February, President Trump included the US Institute of Peace in an
executive order targeting federal entities he deemed “unnecessary” and which he
planned to cut as much as he legally could. In March, the USIP’s Washington,
DC, offices were invaded by armed private security as part of a brute force
takeover by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Amid the
subsequent running court battle, the USIP, which once employed over 200 people,
has been reduced to a ghost organization, with around four total workers. In
court, DOGE and the Trump administration continue to insist they can seize both
USIP’s famous headquarters, situated near the National Mall, as well as its
finances.
In late July, the State Department also announced a new, eyebrow-raising acting
president for what’s left of USIP: former academic Darren Beattie, who was
fired from the first Trump administration for speaking at a conference heavily
attended by white nationalists.
Beattie is also an undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at
the State Department, despite the act that created the USIP seemingly barring
him from accepting a salary for both roles. When asked for comment, a State
Department spokesperson did not address the issue, but sent an anonymous
statement suggesting Beattie’s appointment was in response to USIP having
“slipped in its mission over recent decades” and saying he would “advance
President Trump’s America First agenda in this new role.”
Beattie’s background and history of racist and extremist remarks has generated
concern. He tweeted in 2024 that “competent white men must be in charge if you
want anything to work;” another time that year, he floated an inflammatory
rhetorical question: “What if America moved on to some national religion other
than coddling and excusing inner city black dysfunction, violence, and
misbehavior?” He has also advocated for stripping what he called “undesirables”
of US citizenship, adding, “ship them out, put them to work extracting rare
earth minerals. Peace through strength!”
The USIP was founded in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan as an independent,
nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization to train people here and abroad in
mediation, diplomacy, conflict management, and other peace-building skills.
Staffers who were forced out of USIP, as well as an attorney who represents
them, say it’s unclear what, precisely, Beattie could even do with today’s
skeleton organization.
“Nobody knows if the intention is for this man to come in and reinstate the
institute with this America First lens, or he’s there just to dismantle it,” a
former USIP staffer who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation
said. “How can this person be one to lead any peace-building? It just seems
absurd.”"
Via
Garbage Day: The uncanny valley between meme and law
<
https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-uncanny-valley-between-meme-and-law-9650f12b480c7005>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
