United States military aid

The United States government first recognized the usefulness of foreign aid as a tool of diplomacy in World War II. It was believed that it would promote liberal capitalist models of development in other countries and that it would enhance national security.[1]

The United States is the largest contributor of military aid to foreign countries in the world, with its Department of Defense providing funding and/or American military hardware aid to over 150 countries annually for defense purposes.

Military funding programs

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There are three main programs where military funding is allocated:

  1. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) provides grants for the acquisition of U.S. defense equipment, services, and training. These grants enable friends and allies to improve their defense capabilities.[2][3][4][5] FMF is allowed under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), which as amended [22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.], authorizes the President to finance procurement of defense articles and services for foreign countries and international organizations.[6] The goals of FMF are:[7][8][9]
    • Promoting national security by contributing to regional and global stability
    • Strengthening military support for democratically elected governments and containing transnational threats, including terrorism and trafficking in narcotics, weapons, and persons
    • Fostering closer military relationships between the U.S. and recipient nations
  2. Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) provide voluntary support for international peacekeeping activities. These funds support non-U.N. operations and training in response to a nation’s crisis.[10] The goals of PKO are:
    • Promoting increased involvement of regional organizations in conflict resolution
    • Helping leverage support for multinational efforts in the event of a nation's crisis
  3. The International Military Education and Training program (IMET) offers military training on a grant basis to foreign military officials.[11] The goals of IMET are:
    • Encouraging effective defense relationships
    • Promoting interoperability with U.S. and coalition forces
    • Exposing foreign civilian and military officials to democratic values, military professionalism, and international norms of human rights

Some examples of this would include the United States' efforts in Colombia and South Korea. Military aid has been successful in stopping insurgency, providing stability, and ending conflicts within the region. In South Korea, US military aid has been beneficial for the maintenance of national security, economic and social development, and civilization as a whole.[12]

In many other cases, military aid has laid the groundwork for other forms of aid. This aid includes building schools to promote education, providing clean drinking water, and further stabilizing food production. Without military aid, this development would have been impossible.[citation needed]

Criticisms

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Particular targets of criticism include

  • Funds appropriated to the State Department and Defense Department represent the vast majority of unclassified military aid and assistance.[13]
  • The United States gives the same amount of money to its top five aid recipients as they give to the rest of the world.[14]
  • Generally, increasing levels of US military aid significantly reduces cooperative foreign policy behavior with the United States.[15]

Table

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The following table shows which countries does the United States provide military aid and/or assistance, per USAID.[16]

Countries by U.S. Military Aid
Country/Region 2022 2023
  Afghanistan No No
  Albania Yes Yes
  Algeria Yes Yes
  Angola Yes Yes
  Antigua and Barbuda Yes Yes
  Argentina Yes Yes
  Armenia Yes Yes
  Azerbaijan Yes Yes
  Bahamas Yes Yes
  Bahrain Yes Yes
  Bangladesh Yes Yes
  Barbados Yes Yes
  Belarus No No
  Belize Yes Yes
  Benin Yes Yes
  Bhutan No Yes
  Bolivia No No
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes Yes
  Botswana Yes Yes
  Brazil Yes Yes
  Bulgaria Yes Yes
  Burkina Faso No No
  Burundi No No
  Cambodia No No
  Cameroon Unknown or unclear Yes
  Cape Verde Yes Yes
  Central African Republic No Yes
  Chad Yes Unknown or unclear
  Chile Yes Yes
  China No No
  Colombia Yes Yes
  Comoros Yes Yes
  Congo Yes Yes
  Costa Rica Yes Yes
  Croatia Yes Yes
  Cuba No No
  Cyprus Yes Yes
  Czech Republic Yes Yes
  Democratic Republic of the Congo Yes Yes
  Djibouti Yes Yes
  Dominica Yes Yes
  Dominican Republic Yes Yes
  East Timor Yes Yes
  Ecuador Yes Yes
  Egypt Yes Yes
  El Salvador Yes Yes
  Equatorial Guinea Yes Yes
  Eritrea No No
  Estonia Yes Yes
  Eswatini Yes Yes
  Ethiopia Yes No
  Fiji Yes Yes
  Gabon Yes Yes
  Gambia Yes Yes
  Georgia Yes Yes
  Germany Yes Yes
  Ghana Yes Yes
  Greece Yes Yes
  Grenada Yes Yes
  Guatemala Yes Yes
  Guinea No No
  Guinea-Bissau Yes Yes
  Guyana Yes Yes
  Haiti Yes Yes
  Honduras Yes Yes
  Hungary Yes Yes
  India Yes Yes
  Indonesia Yes Yes
  Iran No No
  Iraq Yes Yes
  Israel Yes Yes
  Ivory Coast Yes Yes
  Jamaica Yes Yes
  Jordan Yes Yes
  Kazakhstan Yes Yes
  Kenya Yes Yes
  Kosovo Yes Yes
  Kyrgyzstan Yes Yes
  Laos Yes Yes
  Latvia Yes Yes
  Lebanon Yes Yes
  Lesotho Yes Yes
  Liberia Yes Yes
  Libya No No
  Lithuania Yes Yes
  Madagascar Yes Yes
  Malawi Yes Yes
  Malaysia Yes Yes
  Maldives Yes Yes
  Mali No No
  Malta Yes Yes
  Mauritania Yes Yes
  Mauritius Yes Yes
  Mexico Yes Yes
  Moldova Yes Yes
  Mongolia Yes Yes
  Montenegro Yes Yes
  Morocco Yes Yes
  Mozambique Yes Yes
  Myanmar No No
  Namibia Yes Yes
    Nepal Yes Yes
  Nicaragua No No
  Niger Yes Yes
  Nigeria Yes Yes
  North Korea No No
  North Macedonia Yes Yes
  Oman Yes Yes
  Pakistan[a] Unknown or unclear No
  Palau Unknown or unclear Yes
  Palestine No No
  Panama Yes Yes
  Papua New Guinea Yes Yes
  Paraguay Yes Yes
  Peru Yes Yes
  Philippines Yes Yes
  Poland Yes Yes
  Romania Yes Yes
  Russia No No
  Rwanda Yes Unknown or unclear
  Saint Kitts and Nevis Unknown or unclear Yes
  Saint Lucia Yes Yes
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Yes Yes
  São Tomé and Principe Yes Yes
  Saudi Arabia Unknown or unclear Unknown or unclear
  Senegal Yes Yes
  Serbia Yes Yes
  Seychelles Yes Yes
  Sierra Leone Yes Yes
  Slovakia Yes Yes
  Slovenia Yes Yes
  Solomon Islands No No
  Somalia Yes Yes
  South Africa Yes Yes
  South Sudan Yes No
  Sri Lanka Yes Yes
  Sudan No No
  Suriname Yes Yes
  Syria No No
  Taiwan Yes Yes
  Tajikistan Yes Yes
  Tanzania Yes Yes
  Thailand Yes Yes
  Togo Yes Yes
  Tonga Yes Yes
  Trinidad and Tobago Yes Yes
  Tunisia Yes Yes
  Turkey Yes Yes
  Turkmenistan Yes Yes
  Uganda Yes Yes
  Ukraine Yes Yes
  Uruguay Yes Yes
  Uzbekistan Yes Yes
  Vanuatu Yes Yes
  Venezuela No No
  Vietnam Yes Yes
  Western Sahara[b] No No
  Yemen No Yes
  Zambia Yes Yes
  Zimbabwe No No

Notes

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  1. ^ Currently, the United States aid to Pakistan only includes civilian assistance, and military assistance has been terminated since 2018.[17][18]
  2. ^ The United States does not recognize the Sahrawi Republic established by the Polisario Front. In the late 2020, the United States officially recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Foreign Aid. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  2. ^ Foreign Military Financing Account Summary. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  3. ^ "Foreign Military Financing (FMF)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Security Assistance Team". U.S. Department of State. 24 January 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Foreign Military Financing (FMF)". Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Foreign Military Financing (FMF) | The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". www.dsca.mil. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  7. ^ "About Us - Office of Security Assistance". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  8. ^ Axelrod, Matthew Craig (April 2011). "Aid as Leverage? Understanding the U.S.-Egypt Military Relationship" (PDF). The Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  9. ^ Tarnoff, Curt; Lawson, Marian L. (29 January 2016). "Foreign Aid: An Introduction to U.S. Programs and Policy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  10. ^ Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy (PDF). Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  11. ^ IMET Assessment Project 2007-2008. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  12. ^ Choi, Tae Young (1989). "Effect Analysis of U.S. Military Aid to the Republic of Korea" (PDF). Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020.
  13. ^ A Citizen's Guide to Understanding U.S. Foreign Military Aid. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  14. ^ Noah GrantJust the Facts: Foreign Aid vs. Military Spending. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  15. ^ Sullivan, Patricia; Tessman, Brock; Li, Xiaojun (2011). "US Military Aid and Recipient State Cooperation". Foreign Policy Analysis. 7 (3): 275–294. doi:10.1111/j.1743-8594.2011.00138.x.
  16. ^ "Foreign Assistance". Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  17. ^ Michael, Peel (January 29, 2018). "Pakistan turns to Russia and China after US military aid freeze". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  18. ^ Arshad, Mehmood. "Pakistan requests renewed US military aid as it launches fresh counterterrorism effort". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  19. ^ "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
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