By Diane Kepus
July 18, 2014
NewsWithViews.com
We have, that is as in the United States, the Department of Defense, CIA, FBI, several departments for the different military branches, and the UNITED NATIONS. So when I got the e-mail showing me a House Resolution in Congress to stop ANY and ALL funding of the Institute of Peace (USIP), I had to look into it.
Especially once I found out it is funded by CONGRESS and the Board of Directors are appointed by the PRESIDENT and confirmed by the SENATE.
You know, it never ceases to amaze me how much new information I have been able to pack into my brain in the past 6 years – information especially regarding corruption, deceit, cronyism and deception.
If this doesn’t upset you maybe this will. In 2011 the USIP got $34 million from Congress, plus another $17 million in payments from the State Department and the Pentagon and another $15 million for its new building.
In 2012, USIP was looking to get about $54 million total from taxpayers and more than a half-billion dollars over 10 years, as we now count things.
The UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE (USIP) is an American non-partisan, independent, federal institution that provides analysis of and is involved in conflicts around the world. The Institute was established by an act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The board is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and board members have historically had close ties to American intelligence services. Its headquarters in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., sits at the northwest corner of the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In
1996, Congress authorized the Navy to transfer jurisdiction of the
federal 
land—a
portion of its Potomac Annex facility on what has been known as Navy
Hill—to become the site of the permanent USIP headquarters.
Wow! It saddens me deeply learning of President Reagan’s involvement in some of the deceptions of the American people.
Though he did many good things we are still to determine if they out weight the bad (1985 education treaty with Russians).
The United States Institute of Peace Act was passed in 1984 with a mission for the institute to “serve the people and government through the widest possible range of education and training, basic and applied research opportunities, and peace information services on the means to promote international peace and the resolution of conflicts among the nations and peoples of the world without recourse to violence”. This sounds almost like the reasons given for the forming of the United Nations.
The Institute carries out this mission by operating programs in conflict zones, conducting research and analysis, operating a training academy and public education center, providing grants for research and fieldwork, convening conferences and workshops, and building the academic and policy fields of international conflict management and peace building. On many of its projects, the Institute works in partnership with nongovernmental organizations, higher and secondary educational institutions, international organizations, local organizations, and U.S. government agencies to include the State Department and the Department of Defense.
Critics say that the supposed peace research of USIP "looks more like the study of new and potential means of aggression," through trade embargoes, austerity programs, and electoral intervention. When it was established in 1984, it was filled with right-wing ideologues from academia and the Pentagon," and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency was allowed to assign officers and employees to the Institute. Nearly half its board played a role in Iran-contra operations. The first president was Robert F. Turner, who worked for the State Department arguing for increased aid to the Nicaraguan contras.
We fund the United Nations and now it seems we’ve been funding the Institute of Peace also. They are funded annually by the U.S. Congress and for fiscal year 2012 Congress provided USIP $39 million. I guess the reason we might not have ever noticed any funding for them is because it gets transferred from other government agencies, one to another, such as the Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Defense. By law, USIP is prohibited from receiving private gifts and contributions for its program activities. The restriction on private fundraising was lifted for the public-private partnership to construct the USIP headquarters.
Did they forget to re-instate the restriction of private fund raising by PPP’s? According to a 2011 report, Jason Chaffetz and then representative Weiner were trying to stop USIP funding. Weiner called USIP a "fine think tank" and said they didn't question the "organization's value," only its need for taxpayer money when it "raises millions from corporations and private interests."
Supporters of this once again government boondoggle like to tell you that the idea behind the formation of USIP initially was based on the 1783 paper George Washington wrote calling for the establishment of a proper “Peace Establishment.”
The idea of a national peace institute was long in the making and approved by a wide spectrum of peace advocates in the 1970’s and 80’s.By the time the USIP was formally established in 1984, its board looked like a “who’s who” of right-wingideologues from academia and the Pentagon.
By law, the USIP is an arm of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. The legislation that established the USIP specifies that “the director of Central Intelligence may assign officers and employees” of the CIA to the USIP, and the Institute is authorized to use and disseminate “classified materials from the intelligence community.”
I believe while reading the “Peace Establishment” and the involvement of the USIP in world activities, you will find they are nothing alike nor did the Peace Establishment call for a huge financial backing.
• First. A regular and standing force, for Garrisoning West Point and such other Posts upon our Northern, Western, and Southern Frontiers, as shall be deemed necessary to awe the Indians, protect our Trade, prevent the encroachment of our Neighbours of Canada and the Florida's, and guard us at least from surprizes; Also for security of our Magazines.
• Secondly. A well organized Militia; upon a Plan that will pervade all the States, and introduce similarity in their Establishment Manoeuvres, Exercise and Arms.
• Thirdly. Establishing Arsenals of all kinds of Military Stores.
• Fourthly. Academies, one or more for the Instruction of the Art Military; particularly those Branches of it which respect Engineering and Artillery, which are highly essential, and the knowledge of which, is most difficult to obtain. Also Manufactories of some kinds of Military Stores.
Yes I know you are going to tell me the world is a different place today but, when was the last time you heard anything about an Institute of Peace? Ever! With offices all over the world and the American taxpayers footing the bills do you not think we have should have some kind of information and/or accountability?
In practice, the USIP intersects heavily with the intelligence establishment. Nearly half its board members played some role in the Iran-contra operations,and an analysis of the USIP’s grant making priorities since 1986 reveals substantial funding for “scholars” already on the take from other military and intelligence agencies.
A series of protests pro and con ensued, but by the final round of legislative wrangling, the “peace academy” was neither to be an educational center nor one dedicated to the quest for peace in the true meaning of the term.
The authorization for the newly-named United States Institute of Peace was attached to the 1985 Defense Authorization Bill and it was structured by law to be governed by a presidentially-appointed (and congressionally approved) board of directors, to include direct participation by the heads of four agencies: the Departments of State and Defense, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), and the National Defense University.
Where do we currently stand? Your taxpayer $$ at work! To name a few:
USIP Grant Enables Peace Education Programs in Somalia:
• 2014 - If the youth are the seeds of our future, then education is the light which helps them grow – and in this case, the United States Institute of Peace's (USIP) grantees are the greenhouse, ensuring that the roots of peace begin to develop early and deeply in the communities that need it the most. Right now, USIP's grant program is supporting youth peace education in Uganda, Sudan and Somalia. A PEACE curriculum?
• Games for Change Seek to Connect Dots Towards Peace:
Asi Burak, the award-winning co-creator of the PeaceMaker computer game outlined the triumphs and challenges of trying to advance social change with gaming technology, during a session at the U.S. Institute of Peace for the annual Alliance for Peace building conference.• 2013 Afghanistan:USIP awarded OSCAR (Organization of Social, Cultural, Awareness and Rehabilitation), an Afghan NGO, and a small grant to educate and train local civil society groups in Kunar Province to oppose corruption.• 2005 USIP Task Force on the United Nations:USIP was directed by Congress in December 2004 to create a Task Force on the United Nations. The task force assessed the extent to which the United Nations is fulfilling the purposes stated in its Charter and recommended an actionable agenda for the United States on the UN. While not an official U.S. government effort, the Task Force was obligated to provide its report to Congress.
o First Report June 2005: This first report by the Task Force calls for immediate action and attention for reforming the United Nations. Contents: Foreword, by Newt Gingrich and George Mitchell co-chairs; American Interests and the United Nations; Saving Lives, Safeguarding Human Rights, and Ending Genocide; In Need of Repair: Reforming the United Nations; Deterring Death and Destruction: Catastrophic Terrorism and the Proliferation of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons; War and Peace: Preventing and Ending Conflicts; Helping People and Nations: Development and Humanitarian Assistance. (The forward is very telling yet the United States continues to send $$ to the UN).
o Page #135 Appendix B: Legislation Establishing the Task Force
A must read!
o December 2005 – Update Report on the Task Force. Be sure to read over page 35.
The 2011 move on the Hill involved both Republicans and Democrats to defund USIP from any further FEDERAL funding. They admitted at the time that even if passed in House, the Democratic controlled Senate would restore the funding – and they did.
Perhaps if its 325 staff all toiled overseas or hunkered in some creaky offices downtown, it wouldn't have become so exposed. But, as the Chaffetz and Weiner noted, there's that curiously shaped, 150,000-square-foot, $183 million new office building near the Lincoln Memorial that it is soon moving into.
On February 17, 2011, the House of Representatives for the 112th U.S. Congress voted to eliminate all funding for the U.S. Institute of Peace in an FY 2011 continuing resolution. Funding for the Institute was eventually restored by both the House and Senate on April 14, 2011, through the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011
Every
morning commuters, including no doubt some who work on the Hill, drive
across the bridges from Virginia, and ask: What is that thing? Then
they find out they own it. What's more, they shelled out more than
$100 million for it 
courtesy
of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) -- and likely will pay several
million a year towards its maintenance.
The thing on top? It looks like a big tent or maybe a cloud! We're told it's actually a dove. USIP says the idea came from a dove designed by George Washington himself and is in the weathervane atop his Mount Vernon home. Sure, blame it on George Washington when he can’t defend himself. What it looks like is an architect’s try at fame and glory at the taxpayer’s expense.
I don’t know about you but I once again feel defiled and violated – deceived once again by back door, under handed actions by our elected officials. I don’t care that it was passed in1984; it is still working where the United Nations should be for all the money we are paying them and we are funding USIP too.
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Keep watch America – H.R. 4914 was introduced on June 19, 2014 by Rep. Matt Salmon (R) (AZ) 5th District and must be approved. Please call Rep. Salmon and your representative and let them know you support this House Resolution to “prohibit funding to the Institute of Peace”. “No funds available to the Department of State or any other department or agency may be used to provide contributions directly or indirectly to the Institute of Peace.
Rep. Salmon can be reached at 202-225-2635.
And they don’t have the money to take care of our military properly or the VA!
© 2014 Diane Kepus - All Rights Reserved
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Share This ArticleDiane Kepus – Parent, Education/Human Trafficing Researcher, Speaker
My background as an Accountant /Auditor showed me my love of “digging.” In 1980 when I took up the hobby of Genealogy as the TV commercial says “I was in deep babe.”
I am married with a blended family of 8 children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandson and you can readily understand why I chose Education or the “lack thereof” and Human Trafficking as my passions for the past 4 years.
I have witnessed the decline in the scholastic achievement levels of our children brought about by the interference of the Federal DOE and individuals/businesses who choose to use our children as “human collateral” for their own financial gains. In the process they are leading them into a Communist agenda to be overseen by the United Nations.
I actually began my Education research regarding the “International Baccalaurate” (IB) program and that branched out into all aspects of foreign education of which has been allowed into our schools. Then it moved on to the push for Charter Schools with “unelected” school boards to the infiltration of the Common Core State Standards which are to be implemented into the states without proper state legislation.
The Common Cores State Standards (CCSS) are an important issue we must tackle by getting the information out to the parents so they can help stop this. This is not about making your children smarter, or worrying about whether they will actually go to college or not – this is about Total Control by others who are not their parents. The cost alone – wait until your property taxes go off the charts to pay for this. It is all about $$ and Big Business.
My goal is to reach as many people as possible to teach and inform them the truth about the Common Core State Standards and all the other evil things of which are being put on our children on a daily basis and most of it without parental permission.
Websites:
1-
www.chartertruth.com
2- www.flcommoncore.net
3- www.truthabouteducation.org
4- www.americaismyname.org
5- www.truthabouteducation.wordpress.com
E-Mail: Thekidds8@ymail.com
