THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL-MAY 2025 65 John Schroder launched a pilot program to provide surveillance drones and training. Spirit of America’s early investment in maritime domain awareness was so successful it ultimately led to a much larger U.S. government investment. As terrorism has spiked across the Sahel, so has our Africa team’s collaboration with U.S. embassies in coastal West Africa, where we help local partners build resilience to threats to their communities and democracies. In the Middle East, Spirit of America works closely with embassies and military personnel to fill critical gaps between what is needed and what the U.S. government can do. In Iraqi Kurdistan, our team is partnering with Consulate General Erbil and the Kurdistan Regional Government to train hundreds of Peshmerga security personnel in English-language skills, expanding their access to U.S. training programs. Beyond military collaboration, our team empowers local partners to create opportunity, like a community-based tourism project to map trails in the Zagros Mountains. Our work in Iraqi Kurdistan has strengthened America’s relationship with an important partner in the Middle East. e I’ve seen the power of strategic private investments—what we like to call “venture capital for national security”—that can help larger U.S.-funded projects make a bigger difference. In Kazakhstan, for example, my colleague Alex Ebsary learned that USAID was helping Central Asian partners restore life in a place the Soviet Union had left for dead: the Aral Sea basin. Through the Oasis project, USAID planned to introduce droughtresistant plants to counter desertification and reduce the spread of toxic dust that threatened public health.
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