Republican senators move to block Somalia terror funding until allies pay 'fair share'
FIRST ON FOX : Fox News Digital has learned that the U.S. could withhold funding for the war against Islamist terror in Somalia until Europe, the African Union (A.U.) and the United Nations (U.N.) pay more of their "fair" share toward the cost of striking out and keeping the peace in the conflict-torn country.
These plans to "prohibit" the use of U.S. funds are key details, shown first to Fox News Digital, of a new bill to be introduced by three prominent Republican senators.
In line with President Donald Trump's administration's widespread moves to tighten fiscal controls in the U.S. and overseas, Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are to introduce "the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) Funding Restriction Act of 2025."
This is "to safeguard U.S. taxpayer funds and hold the U.N. and A.U. accountable in African peace operations," Risch told Fox News Digital.
The bill also seeks to mandate the U.S. to oppose any U.N. Security Council action which enables such funding.
The East African country of Somalia has been wracked for decades by attacks and insurgency from Islamist terrorists, both from ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab. In just the past five weeks, U.S. Africa Command reported that it has carried out four airstrikes; three against ISIS terrorists and one against al-Shabaab. At least one of these strikes, the command stated, was against multiple targets.
Chairman Risch told Fox News Digital, "The Trump Administration has taken decisive action to counterterrorist groups across Africa, and I'm very supportive."
However, officials from the European Union, according to Risch, plan to skew payments for the AUSSOM peacekeeping and stablization operation more toward the U.S.; in other words, make the U.S. pay more than it should, he said.
"At the U.N., our European partners are looking to skirt their financial commitments to AUSSOM in Somalia by switching to a new imbalanced funding mechanism that pushes the burden on Americans," he stated.
"We can't let that stand," Risch continued. "This bill will prohibit U.S. contributions to AUSSOM under this new funding scheme, until the A.U. and the U.N. can prove that they are using the funds they have responsibly, and prevent Americans from being locked into perpetually funding a broken system."
Risch said, "President Trump has ushered in a new era of American foreign policy where American taxpayer dollars will be used only to secure a safe and prosperous America. For far too long, our allies have taken America for a ride, and profited off of America paying the lion's share for global security. Europe must continue to shoulder this burden."
The other two senators sponsoring the bill, Cruz and Scott, also serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Scott told Fox News Digital, "The United States will not allow our tax dollars to be exploited by the U.N. while our partners refuse to pay their fair share, much less for a mission that fails to spend these dollars responsibly or transparently. I am proud to join my colleagues on the AUSSOM Funding Restriction Act to ensure Americans' interests are put first, and their tax dollars spent wisely."
The specific aims of the bill that have been shown to Fox News Digital are:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hays County Judge calls for humane immigration practices amid rising detentions
HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – The Hays County Commissioners Court will consider adopting a resolution Tuesday calling for due process and humane treatment of immigrants. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said he's bringing forward the resolution because of recent federal immigration activity that has caused disorder across the county. 'The resolution I'm presenting on Tuesday is about us being Americans, being respectful, respecting the rule of law,' Becerra said. 'What I want to do is help support peace, unity, and harmony throughout our county.' Becerra said there has been an increase in federal immigration officers detaining people in Hays County since the Trump Administration took office. According to a KXAN special project, over 12,000 undocumented immigrants living in Texas were detained from January to March, the most of any other state. 'I'm not looking for anything except to treat people like humans, be respectful, follow the rule of law, and let's move in an orderly manner without causing havoc and destruction,' Becerra said. Texas immigration attorney Adrian Resendez said immigrant detainments have steadily risen in the last several months. 'There are only certain amounts of ICE agents available, and only a certain amount of resources that the government allocated. Now what we're seeing is a larger allocation of resources, we are seeing a ramping up across the board,' Resendez said. Fox News reported in May that the Trump Administration raised its ICE arrest target to 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day. Resendez said he has clients who were following the proper procedures but were still arrested and detained. 'The controversy is now that they are detaining people who technically followed all the rules that were asked of them,' he said. 'We are seeing some people being detained who have been here [several years] – they're permanent residents.' Resendez said that due process in an immigration context could involve someone arriving in the U.S. to flee danger in their home country. If that claim is deemed credible, they would be given a court date to make their case. 'That court date, that's the due process that they get,' Resendez said. 'In my opinion, I am seeing a lack of due process.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What are Canada's governing Liberals going to do about AI?
Fresh off his election victory, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been focused on standing up to Donald Trump's claims on Canada as the 51st state and American tariffs. But while that political drama unfolds, one topic that seems to have quietly slipped under the radar is the rise of artificial intelligence. Despite its transformative impact on everything from jobs to national security, AI received surprisingly little attention during the campaign and in the first weeks following Carney's victory. The consequences of that lack of attention are already starting to show, as emissions and electricity costs continue unabated without a clear vision of where AI fits in. Read more: Although Carney has appointed former journalist Evan Solomon as Canada's first-ever AI minister, it's not yet clear what action the Liberal government plans to take on AI. The Liberals' 'Canada Strong' plan outlining the prime minister's proposals is scarce on details. Still, it provides some clues on how the Liberals see AI and what they believe it offers to the Canadian economy — and also what they seem to have misunderstood. First, the plan includes some robust initiatives for improving Canada's digital infrastructure, which lags behind other leading countries, especially in terms of rural broadband and reliable cell service. To accomplish these goals, the Liberals say they'll incentivize investment by 'introducing flow-through shares to our Canadian startup ecosystem…to raise money faster' for AI and other technologies. In other words, they will reuse the model of mining and oil companies whereby investors can claim a tax deduction for the same amount as their investment. A major question is whether Canada's investment ecosystem has enough big players willing to take these risks. The plan gets less promising as it comes to the implementation of AI within 'the economy of tomorrow.' The Liberals say they plan to build more data centres, improve computing capacity and create digital supply chain solutions 'to improve efficiency and reduce costs for Canadians.' All that that sounds OK — so far. But how will they do this? The Liberals plan to establish the Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Science (BOREALIS), linking AI development directly to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Communications Security Establishment Canada, which provides the federal government with information technology security and foreign signals intelligence. This approach to AI is focused on what it offers to Canada's defence, whether by manufacturing semiconductors or improving intelligence gathering, so that it can rely less on the U.S. Similarly, Canadian defence tech firms will access funding to help reduce dependence on American suppliers and networks. The Liberals are pledging sovereignty and autonomy for Canada's defence and security, all enabled by 'the construction and development of AI infrastructure.' What goes unsaid is the intense power needs of data centres, and the consequences for emissions and climate action of 'building the next generation of data centres' in Canada. New data centres cannot be built without also constructing more renewable energy infrastructure, and none of this addresses emissions or climate change. If the centres crop up in big numbers as planned, Canadians could also see their electricity costs go up or become less reliable. That's because finding space within the existing grid is not as easy as it may sound when AI data centres require over 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity demand versus five to 10 MW for a regular centre. With the rapidly evolving market for AI-based data centres, Canadian policymakers need to provide clear guidance to utilities in terms of their current decisions on competing industrial-scale demands. As the Canadian Climate Institute points out: 'Anything less risks higher rates, increased emissions, missed economic opportunities — or all of the above.' So far, the Liberal plan fails to address any of these concerns. What else does the 'economy of tomorrow' hold? Apparently, it means more efficient government. According to the Liberal plan, AI 'is how government improves service delivery, it is how government keeps up with the speed of business, and it is how government maximizes efficiency and reduces cost.' Despite otherwise clashing with the Trump administration, this language is reminiscent of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has also centred its use of AI. Read more: The Liberals will open an Office of Digital Transformation, which aims to get rid of red tape and 'reduce barriers for businesses to operate in Canada.' They don't seem to really know what this would actually look like, however. They say: 'This could mean using AI to address government service backlogs and improve service delivery times, so that Canadians get better services, faster.' Their fiscal plan points out that this frame of thinking applies to every single expenditure: 'We will look at every new dollar being spent through the lens of how AI and technology can improve service and reduce costs.' The economy will also benefit, the government argues, from AI commercialization, with $46 million pegged over the next four years to connect AI researchers with businesses. This would work alongside a tax credit for small and medium-sized businesses to 'leverage AI to boost their bottom lines, create jobs, and support existing employees.' But a new report by Orgvue, the organizational design and planning software platform, shows that over half of businesses that rushed to impose AI just ended up making their employees redundant without clear gains in productivity. Creating a tax credit for smaller companies to introduce AI seems like a recipe for repeating the same mistake. Much of the Liberal plan seems to involve taking risks. There's a shortsightedness on this rapidly advancing technology that requires significant guardrails. The government seem to view AI as a solutions machine, buying into the hype around it without taking the time to understand it. As policy is properly hashed out in the weeks and months to come, the Liberals' feet will have to be held to the fire on the issue of AI. Canadians must benefit from its limited uses and be protected from its abuses. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organisation bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jake Pitre, Concordia University Read more: Canada has a chance to lead on AI policy and data governance at the 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit Artificial intelligence should not be allowed to adjudicate cases in Canada's Federal Court AI and criminal justice: How AI can support — not undermine — justice Jake Pitre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
Here's What's Happening in America, in Six (Mostly) Russian Terms
We both grew up in Russia in the early 2000s and lived through the country's gradual slide into authoritarianism under President Vladimir Putin. In our 20s we started working in human rights. Now we live abroad, knowing that a return to Russia would almost certainly mean jail. Over the recent months we have been noticing something worrying: The same markers of authoritarianism we know from our youth have been appearing in America. Our American friends often struggle to describe what exactly is happening. That's because, in part, they simply don't have the language for it. We do. Over decades of facing dictators, Russians have developed a rich vocabulary to make sense of authoritarian reality — a weave of neologisms, coded jokes, doublespeak and Aesopian language. Some of these terms have already started to crop up in America. Words like 'oligarchy' and 'gulag' have been pressed into use as people try to make sense of President Trump's administration. But there are lots more. We decided to write a handy phrase book — a sort of short glossary of authoritarianism — to help Americans name their new reality. Because when we can describe what is happening, it becomes a bit easier to fight it. Mnogohodovochka Let's start with something fun. 'Mnogohodovochka' is an ironic Russian term that translates literally as 'multiple steps' and usually means 'master plan.' The term emerged online to mock the Kremlin's need to explain Mr. Putin's actions, even when they make no sense. State media presents everything he does as part of a brilliant long-term plan that will — one day — bring great benefit to ordinary citizens. 'Russia wasn't pushed back from Kyiv,' propagandists would say in 2022. 'It is all a part of a feint.' The country's military, meanwhile, was decimated. Now observe how many Republican leaders responded to Mr. Trump's early moves on tariffs, which would clearly disadvantage their constituencies. Policies were changing constantly, seemingly on Mr. Trump's whim — creating complete chaos worldwide. But the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, had an explanation. 'Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal. You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
