The

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

first recognized the usefulness of

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

as a tool of

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was believed that it would promote liberal

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

models of development in other countries and that it would enhance national security. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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: #

Foreign military financing The Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program provides grants and loans to help countries purchase weapons and defense equipment produced in the United States as well as acquiring defense services and military training. FMF funds purchases are made ...

provides grants for the acquisition of U.S. defense equipment, services, and training. These grants enable friends and allies to improve their defense capabilities. FMF is allowed under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), which as amended 2 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq. authorizes the President to finance procurement of defense articles and services for foreign countries and international organizations. 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 #

Peacekeeping Operations Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

(PKO) provide voluntary support for international peacekeeping activities. These funds support non-U.N. operations and training in response to a nation’s crisis. 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 #The International Military Education and Training program (IMET) offers military training on a grant basis to foreign military officials. 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. 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.

Criticisms

Particular targets of criticism include * Funds appropriated to the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

and Defense Department represent the vast majority of unclassified military aid and assistance. The public does not have any way of tracking classified programs administered by the U.S. intelligence community. * Foreign aid often aids the giver, not the recipient. * Corruption is a major problem. Funds often go directly to leaders who may not share the aid with citizens. * The United States gives the same amount of money to its top five aid recipients as they give to the rest of the world. * Military aid went to

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-e ...

dictatorships in the second half of the 20th century. *Generally, increasing levels of US military aid significantly reduces cooperative foreign policy behavior with the United States

References

External links

*
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Request: International Affairs
' (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), U.S. Congress. *
Congressional Budget Justification: Foreign Operations
' (

), Fiscal year 2008, U.S. Congress.
Foreign Aid Explorer
U.S. Agency for International Development.
''Where Does U.S. Military Aid Go? (1946-2010)''
PBS {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Military Aid Military industry United States federal budgets United States foreign aid Military diplomacy

Military funding programs

Criticisms

See also

References

External links