August 27, 2017
How to Improve Return on Investment for Security Assistance
Security assistance is an expensive tool of statecraft, even if it is just one component of a total foreign aid allotment that represents only about one percent of the total U.S. budget. In FY 2015, the tab totaled an estimated $16.8 billion. Security assistance includes all grant assistance programs through which the United States provides defense articles, military training, and other defense-related services. The United States uses this assistance not only to build the capacity of allies and partners, but also to try to shape their behavior. Though this latter effort often fails, recipients rarely suffer the consequences.
Read the full op-ed in Lawfare.
More from CNAS
-
United States Military Strategy Should Better Match Interests, Says Defense Research Expert
Video
Becca Wasser discusses how U.S. military strategy has been linked to outdated priorities and should better reflect the country’s interests, including protection of the homelan...
By Becca Wasser
-
Spiking the Problem: Developing a Resilient Posture in the Indo-Pacific With Passive Defenses
Commentary
This article originally appeared in War on the Rocks....
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Securing the Global Digital Economy Beyond the China Challenge
Commentary
A revised route to digital modernization, premised on open participation, can not only offset the local costs of China’s cyber and influence power, but pave the way for an equ...
By Ainikki Riikonen
-
The Unmet Promise of the Global Posture Review
Commentary
The review missed an opportunity to realign U.S. military presence overseas with the strategic priorities laid out in the interim National Security Strategic Guidance....
By Becca Wasser
