United States military aid

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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]

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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

There are three main programs where military funding is allocated:

  1. Foreign military financing 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] 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. [3] The goals of FMF are:
    • 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. [4] 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. [5] 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. [6]

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

Particular targets of criticism include

Table

The following table shows which countries does the United States provide military aid and/or assistance, per USAID. [10]

Countries by U.S. Military Aid
Country/Region2022
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan No
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Yes
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria Yes
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Yes
Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg  Antigua and Barbuda Yes
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Yes
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Yes
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan Yes
Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Yes
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Yes
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh Yes
Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados Yes
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus No
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize Yes
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin Yes
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan No
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia No
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana Yes
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Yes
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Yes
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso No
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi No
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia No
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Unknown or unclear
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde Yes
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic No
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad Yes
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Yes
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China No
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia Yes
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros Yes
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo Yes
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Yes
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Yes
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba No
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Yes
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Yes
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of the Congo Yes
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti Yes
Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica Yes
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic Yes
Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor Yes
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador Yes
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Yes
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Yes
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea Yes
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea No
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Yes
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini Yes
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Yes
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji Yes
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon Yes
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia Yes
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia Yes
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Yes
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Yes
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Yes
Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada Yes
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Yes
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea No
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau Yes
Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana Yes
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti Yes
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras Yes
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Yes
Flag of India.svg  India Yes
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Yes
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran No
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Yes
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Yes
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast Yes
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica Yes
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Yes
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan Yes
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Yes
Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Yes
Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan Yes
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos Yes
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Yes
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Yes
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho Yes
Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia Yes
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya No
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Yes
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Yes
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi Yes
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Yes
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives Yes
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali No
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta Yes
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania Yes
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius Yes
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Yes
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova Yes
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia Yes
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro Yes
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco Yes
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique Yes
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar No
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia Yes
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Yes
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua No
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger Yes
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Yes
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea No
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia Yes
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Yes
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Unknown or unclear
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine No
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Yes
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea Yes
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay Yes
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru Yes
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Yes
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Yes
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia No
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda Yes
Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg  Saint Kitts and Nevis Unknown or unclear
Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia Yes
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Yes
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Principe Yes
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal Yes
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Yes
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles Yes
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone Yes
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Yes
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Yes
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands No
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia Yes
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Yes
Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan Yes
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Yes
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan No
Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname Yes
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria No
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan Yes
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Yes
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania Yes
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Yes
Flag of Togo.svg  Togo Yes
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga Yes
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago Yes
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Yes
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Yes
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan Yes
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda Yes
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Yes
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Yes
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Yes
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu Yes
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela No
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam Yes
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg  Western Sahara No
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen No
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia Yes
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe No

See also

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References

  1. Foreign Aid . Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  2. Foreign Military Financing Account Summary . Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  3. "Foreign Military Financing (FMF) | The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". www.dsca.mil. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  4. Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy (PDF). Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  5. IMET Assessment Project 2007-2008 . Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  6. 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.
  7. A Citizen's Guide to Understanding U.S. Foreign Military Aid . Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  8. Noah Grant Just the Facts: Foreign Aid vs. Military Spending . Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  9. 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.
  10. https://www.foreignassistance.gov