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.

  • Video

    Defense

    Saudi Arabia Halts Energy Sites as Houthis Claim New Attacks

    Becca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Bloomberg to discuss the latest on the Iran War, control over the Strait of Hormuz, and th...

    By Becca Wasser

    • September 8, 2026
  • Commentary

    Defense

    Where Do We Go from Here?

    Introduction Over the past nine months, The New American Defense Industrial Base essay series has brought together a wide range of participants to deliver a variety of views o...

    By Susanna V. Blume

    • September 3, 2026
  • Commentary

    Defense

    Manufacturing a New National Security

    Introduction The United States sits atop the world’s pedestal of military superpowers—particularly when it comes to developing and employing the most sophisticated technology—...

    By James Swartout & Nick Doucette

    • August 28, 2026
  • Commentary

    Defense

    The Impossible Middle East

    The Middle East today has some thinking to do. It will need to draw up new ways to preserve its wealth, to pursue greater self-sufficiency, and to diversify—and even own—its s...

    By Becca Wasser

    • Foreign Affairs
    • August 27, 2026

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia