William Hartung
Monday, November 23, 2015 - 06:35
The recent surge in U.S. arms transfers to the Middle East is part of an unprecedented boom in major U.S. arms sales that has been presided over by the Obama administration.
Thursday, October 8, 2015 - 07:05
“U.S. Financing Fails to Sustain Foreign Forces” (front page, Oct. 4), about the routine failures of American foreign arms and training programs to meet their objectives, underscores the need for a move away from reliance on these programs as a central component of United States strategy.
Friday, June 12, 2015 - 08:01
The administration should think twice before upping aid to the Nigerian military. Its record of corruption and systematic human rights violations suggests that any such aid will be useless at best, if not completely counterproductive. Intensive training of the Nigerian military has done little to change this pattern of behavior.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 07:21
The United States has dramatically increased arms transfers to Mexico in support of the Mexican government’s ill-fated and counterproductive war on the drug cartels.
Friday, March 13, 2015 - 08:24
Security assistance – the arming and training of foreign military and police forces – is a crucial tool of U.S. foreign policy. The goal of this type of assistance is to foster stability, bolster allies, and promote human rights and good governance. Done well, these programs can make all of us safer by preventing or reducing armed conflict. Done poorly, they can be used to undermine human rights, fuel conflict, and enable corruption on the part of recipient governments.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - 07:18
Honduras is one of the most violent nations in the world. The situation in the country’s second largest city, San Pedro Sula, demonstrates the depth of the problem.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - 07:17
U.S. military aid programs perform poorly far too often, and they are growing rapidly without adequate congressional or public scrutiny. There is no publicly accessible, comprehensive government reporting on how many programs the United States has that are designed to train and equip foreign militaries, how much they cost, or how many countries and organizations receive this assistance.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 12:57
If there's one thing we should have learned over the past 13 years of war, it's that war is good business for those in the business of war. Unfortunately, while profits for the Pentagon's contractors increase, so does the cost to taxpayers in billions in waste, fraud, and abuse. As America embarks on yet another war in the Middle East, Congress needs to act now to stop this unjustified bonanza for the Pentagon's contractors.
Monday, January 27, 2014 - 06:13
In the past few years, with little media attention or Congressional debate, the United States has engaged in record levels of weapons exports, many of them to the conflict-ridden Middle East and Persian Gulf region. U.S. arms sales agreements topped $60 billion last year, and in 2011, the last year for which full global statistics are available, U.S.