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| Pentagon Can Now Fund Foreign Militaries | |
| 2006-01-29 | |
| Congress has granted unusual authority for the Pentagon to spend as much as $200 million of its own budget to aid foreign militaries, a break with the traditional practice of channeling foreign military assistance through the State Department. The move, included in a little-noticed provision of the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act passed last month, marks a legislative victory for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who pushed hard for the new powers to deal with emergency situations. But it has drawn warnings from foreign policy specialists inside and outside the government, who say it could lead to growth of a separate military assistance effort not subject to the same constraints applied to foreign aid programs that are administered by the State Department. Such constraints are meant to ensure that aid recipients meet certain standards, including respect for human rights and protection of legitimate civilian authorities. "It's important that diplomats remain the ones to make the decisions about U.S. foreign assistance," said George Withers, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America and a former staff member on the House Armed Services Committee. "They can ensure such decisions are taken in the broader context of U.S. foreign policy." Many lawmakers, too, were initially cool to Rumsfeld's request. The Armed Services committees in both the House and Senate declined to write the provision into their original defense authorization bills, citing concerns about a lack of jurisdiction and an absence of detail about where the money would be spent. But the Pentagon pressed its case, with senior commanders joining top officials in weighing in with reluctant members. "This was the most heavily lobbied we've been by the Pentagon in the several years I've been here," said one Senate staff member. "They really, really wanted this." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also threw her support behind the measure
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| Posted by:lotp |
| #5 FMS is a slow process. It takes years to program monies, HR vet units, get political agreements, and develop programs. State Dept holds the money over the foreign political leaders heads as a leverage tool for policy and forcing nations to support us. All in all itÂ’s a great program. It does not work fast enough to influence the battlefields we are currently in. For example we are in a country helping them find a terrorist that has moved into their country. We need to give them some compatible radios and weapons that will actually work, or maybe ammo. Nothing-large scale but enough to get the missions we need accomplished done. Currently we cannot help them, even though they are helping us, under the current FMS laws our hand are tied. Agreements like AXA and MLSA have been established as a legal way to get around it but they are political hot potatoes. This new bill will clear the way and will be a great tool for our SF team worldwide. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-29 20:25 |
| #4 This is only a good idea because the Department of State so ill serves the country's interest. I hope Foggy Bottom takes this as the wake up call it is. Props to Inhof for making it happen. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-29 20:17 |
| #3 Could be for Iran ... or for friendlies in latin america. From the article at least some of it is aimed at Africa. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-29 18:54 |
| #2 This babies got Iran's name all over it. Good move however I bet those at State are going to be fine tooth combing this program for any and all glitch or percieved glitch to leak. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2006-01-29 18:49 |
| #1 perhaps they mean JDAMS for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-29 18:45 |