Adonis Diaries

Any US “nonviolence foundations” Not funded by the government?

This is a quick post, pending development. I received this link on a social platform. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall wrote:

“The two major US foundations promoting nonviolence, both overseas and domestically, are the Albert Einstein Institution (AEI) and the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). Both receive major corporate/government funding, mostly via CIA “pass through” foundations.

The ICNC is funded mainly by the private fortune of hedge fund billionaire (junk bond king Michael Milken…second in command)

AEI Peter Ackerman has received funding from the Rand Corporation and the Department of Defense, as well as various “pass-through” foundations, such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the US Institute of Peace and the Ford Foundation (see The Ford Foundation and the CIA), which all have a long history of collaborating with the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA in destabilizing governments unfriendly to US interests.

Frances Stonor Saunders outlined this strategy in her pivotal “Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters“. According to Sanders, right-wing corporate-backed foundations and the CIA have been funding the non-communist left since the late sixties, in the hope of drowning out and marginalizing the voice of more militant leftists.

It’s also noteworthy that the governing and advisory board of both AEI and ICNC have been consistently dominated by individuals with either a military/intelligence background or a history of prior involvement with CIA “pass-through” foundations, such as NED and USAID…

Less well-known is the role that military and intelligence figures have played in helping Sharp set up and run the AEI.

I think most progressives would be extremely disturbed by the major role played by the military-intelligence establishment in funding and running the AEI.

I think they would find it even more troubling that progressives who refer to any of this on so-called “independent” or “alternative” media websites and blogs have their posts removed.” End of quote

I received a comment that says:

“It is totally untrue that Peter Ackerman or ICNC have ever received one nickel of funding from the Rand Corporation, the Department of Defense, the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute, or the Ford Foundation.

The foundation has collaborated on an educational course with the U.S. Institute of Peace, but it hasn’t worked with any of those other entities. Nor has anyone associated with ICNC worked with, had contact with, or been influenced by anyone affiliated with the CIA.

The burden of proof is on those who make such claims, and none of them — including Stuart Jeanne Bramhall — have ever offered any proof of these claims. Go to ICNC’s web site and judge their activity for yourselves: http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org” End of comment.

I tend to side with Stuart Jeanne Bramhall position for several reasons:

1. The commentator didn’t extend any proof for his claim, except referring us to the site of the foundation.

2. It is well-documented that the federal government is behind the initiation, funding, and purchasing of most US corporations since the 19th century.  Universities in the US expand and prosper thanks to the various research funding from the ministries (defense, health, transportation…).

3. Funding “non-violent foundations” is within the interest of a superpower to diversify its interference in foreign States.  The question is: Why funding only two of these foundations?

4. The practices of the US in foreign States and inside the US demonstrate high tendencies toward violent means.  For example, even recently:

Occupy protests movement was dispersed violently in almost all US cities.

5. How these foundations are covering and handling the daily non-violent civil disobedience of the Palestinians in Israeli occupied land?  Are they exerting any serious pressure on the administration for fair and equitable dealing with both parties?

6. The US is against any dialogue and negotiation for a transitional government in Syria, and is tacitly supporting Qatar and Saudi Arabia in dispatching arms to the violent opposition inside Syria.

7. The US is using military means and drones to attacking bases in south Yemen, and supported a deal that maintained the same political structure in Yemen: Basically, Saudi Arabia was to resume its total control of Yemen as it did in the last 4 decades…

Shall I go on?  Isn’t the trend to believe that the federal government is heavily funding the two US non-violent foundations?