"Here’s What Happened When I Walked Inside USAID In Egypt" by Larry Taunton

 Here’s What Happened When I Walked Inside USAID In Egypt–Larry Taunton:

excerpts:

“…Demands for my passport and phone followed, and I declined. For the uninitiated, your phone is your connection to the free world, and surrendering your passport means you cannot leave the country. Secret police in the Third World seize these as a preliminary move to arrest. Once in their possession, they can arrest you at their leisure. In the meantime, you sweat. It’s one of the oldest and most effective means of terrorizing foreigners.
“You might be a terrorist,” one said.
“You think I’m a terrorist? Really? I am American writer, and my tax dollars pay your salary.”
“That is true, but —,” he said no more.
One of the security guards smirked and quickly turned away. There was a kind of quiet acknowledgment that the terrorism accusation was ridiculous even if it would give them carte blanche to do with me as they wished — which was nothing good.
I would, I said, allow them to see my passport at a distance to confirm my identity, something they already knew. They again demanded that I exit the car and surrender my phone and passport. Some of them were visibly armed, but so far, no weapon had been unholstered.
“No.” 
An intense two-and-a-half-hour standoff followed.
Seeing that it was futile to try to get me out of the car and walk willingly into the USAID compound, they told Mohamed to drive me the 30 or so meters past the gate. I told him he would do no such thing, and he instead opted to smoke a cigarette at a safe distance.
It’s important to understand that these were Egyptian security guards employed by USAID. Rent-a-cops. They had no authority outside the facility. They were on the phone with someone inside USAID who was giving direction. …

Where USAID security had used the claim that I was a terrorist to hold me, the NSA men, older and smarter, never indulged this fantasy. They knew I was an author and freelance columnist who possessed no weapons, and not since Stonewall Jackson have Presbyterians made a habit of blowing things up.
This accusation was quickly dropped in favor of another: espionage.
I freely admitted it to the NSA man: “Yes, I am spying. On my government, not yours” — a cheeky reply but one that clearly caused some consternation.
“Do you have an Egyptian government permit to take photos of Egyptian government buildings?” he asked.
“No.” He briefly looked triumphant. “But I’m not taking photos of Egyptian government buildings. That,” I pointed in the direction of USAID, “is an American government building, and I am an American.”
Annoyed, he left again, pacing on the phone. They clearly did not know how to proceed, and while being charged with espionage is a terrifying prospect, I knew it was problematic for them because it would be a tacit admission that there was more than pallets of rice and canned goods behind the high spiked walls of USAID in Egypt.
Mohamed got back into the Mercedes and locked the doors.
“You know,” I said to him, “the worst part of this might be the fact that I have to pee.”
“Me too!”
He departed for another cigarette and then came back. The NSA, as if to be conciliatory, had given him an offer to relay to me: “They want you to enter the compound and go into their office and sign an ‘incident report.’”
We exchanged knowing looks.
“Is it in Arabic?”
“I don’t know. I will ask.”
“If it’s in English,” I said, “I’ll read it. But I’m not entering the USAID compound. They can bring it to me here.”
He went to speak to them and returned. “They say you must enter their office and review it there. It is in Arabic, and they will not let me translate for you. Only you can go.”
My reply was indelicate. Mohamed concurred: “Yes, I do not think you would come back.” …

Had the USAID office, on my first visit, simply said something like, “Yeah, President Trump is slashing the USAID, and we are in the process of closing shop,” there would be no story here. But the fearful, reactionary response smells of corruption. This was the Streisand effect, initiating calls from high in our government to ask: What the hell is going on at USAID in Egypt?
I will leave that question unanswered. But with war in Gaza, Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians, and mounting evidence that USAID has been funding not only the invasion of the United States by illegal aliens but the very demise of our republic and even terrorism, the destruction of this rogue agency cannot come soon enough.” …….