[originaltext] The Clinton Administration Friday announced that it will close

The Clinton Administration Friday announced that it will close down US aid missions in 21 countries over the next three years. The move is seen as the key element in a plan to reorganize the US Agency for International Development and redefine its goals in the post Cold War era.
   Details from VOA’s Douglas Roberts at the State Department. "The announcement has been expected for many months and the only question at the Friday’s news conference by AID Administrator Bryan Rat Wood was which nations would be affected by the cutbacks, nine in Africa, four in Asia, six in Latin America and two in the Near East. Mr. Rat Wood said some have developed beyond the need for aid operations but others have been what he termed ’poor partners in the development process.’ He singled out Zaire or a dictatorial government has followed policies that made AID operations ineffective. ’We can no longer expect to go to the Congress of the United States, to the American people and tell them that we’re going to be investing their dollars in countries with governments such as the government of Zaire. That is the principal message of the announcement that we are making today.’ Mr. Rat Wood said AID will now concentrate on sustainable development programs in some fifty nations focusing on key areas including the environment, health and population, economic growth and the promotion of democracy. Douglas Roberts, VOA news at the State Department."