Seth Binder
According to the publicly available data, the administration is requesting approximately $18.7 billion in security assistance globally for FY 2016, which includes $8.3 billion in State Department-funded programs. That leaves an estimated $10.4 billion in Defense Department-funded programs where publicly available information is scant at best.
For years, Afghanistan has been rated one of the most corrupt countries in the world and the massive infusion of foreign aid, including military and police aid, has often exacerbated, if not fueled, the problem. To help countries furnishing aid to countries like Afghanistan, Transparency International’s new report, Corruption: Lessons from the International Mission in Afghanistan provides helpful insights and recommendations on how to reduce these problems and consequences.
As these countries continue to engage in airstrikes against targets in Yemen with support from the United States, here is a breakdown of what the United States has been providing since FY 2009, and what they might be using during the operation.
Despite the tension between the two countries, though, as National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s speech made clear to the conference, U.S. military aid to Israel is not in question.
For the United States, the continued Houthi expansion also raises concerns about the stability of a partnership with Yemen in the fight against AQAP. According to a recent Security Assistance Monitor country profile on U.S. Security Assistance to Yemen, the United States has allocated $343 million in military equipment and training to Yemen aimed primarily at countering AQAP from FY 2011 to FY 2014.
While it’s unclear exactly which elite unit the soldiers came from, it appears that the soldiers were part of the Central Security Forces, which has received significant U.S. military aid in the past.