That's not ousting. Is it?
Quote of note:
The institute has an $11 million federal contract to help bring about a "fundamental cultural shift" in Ukraine, as the organization puts it, "from a passive citizenry under an authoritarian regime to a thriving democracy with active citizen participation."
Not the sort of rhetoric to put a host government at ease.
Anyway…
Dollars for Democracy?: U.S. Aid to Ukraine Challenged
By JOEL BRINKLEY
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - Russian leaders, many Ukrainians and even some members of Congress are asking whether the $58 million the United States spent to promote democracy in Ukraine over the past two years was actually intended to oust the government there.
The Bush administration insists that its effort to influence the conduct of the Ukrainian election is nonpartisan. Government officials say the political training programs Washington has sponsored in Ukraine are no different from those in a dozen other countries in recent years.
But teaching the principles of democracy to citizens in a semi-authoritarian system may, on its face, work to empower the government's opponents.
Government officials and contractors working in Ukraine say the projects Washington subsidizes - energizing disenfranchised voters, training student activists, setting up communication networks among nongovernmental organizations - tend to educate and empower the opposition and work to the disadvantage of pro-government parties.
"It has become particularly tricky to walk a very thin line," acknowledged Leslie J. McCuaig, Ukraine project director for the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a Vermont-based organization with branches in Russia and Ukraine.
