The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Order Code RL34639 The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress August 25, 2008 Nina M. Serafino, Coordinator Catherine Dale, Richard F. Grimmett, Rhoda Margesson, John Rollins, Tiaji Salaam-Blyther, Curt Tarnoff, Amy F. Woolf, Liana Sun Wyler, and Steve Bowman Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress Summary The Department of Defense (DOD) has long played a role in U.S. efforts to assist foreign populations, militaries, and governments. The use of DOD to provide foreign assistance stems in general from the perception that DOD can contribute unique or vital capabilities and resources because it possesses the manpower, materiel, and organizational assets to respond to international needs. Over the years, Congress has helped shape the DOD role by providing DOD with its mandate for such activities through a wide variety of authorities. The historical DOD role in foreign assistance can be regarded as serving three purposes: responding to humanitarian and basic needs, building foreign military capacity and capabilities, and strengthening foreign governments’ ability to deal with internal and international threats through state-building measures. The United States and the U.S. military benefit from DOD foreign assistance activities in several ways. U.S. diplomacy benefits from the U.S. military’s capacity to project itself rapidly into extreme situations, such as disasters and other humanitarian emergencies, enhancing the U.S. image as a humanitarian actor. Humanitarian assistance, military training, and other forms of assistance also provide opportunities to cultivate good relations with foreign populations, militaries, and governments. U.S. military personnel have long viewed such activities as opportunities to interact with foreign militaries as part of their professional development. Since the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, DOD training of military forces and provision of security assistance have been an important means to enable foreign militaries to conduct peacekeeping operations and to support coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. DOD’s perception of the appropriate non-combat role for the U.S. military has evolved over time. Within the past few years, the perceptions of DOD officials, military officers, and defense analysts have coalesced around a post-9/11 strategy that calls for the use of the U.S. military in preventive, deterrent, and preemptive activities. This strategy involves DOD in the creation of extensive international and interagency “partnerships,” as well as an expanded DOD role in foreign assistance activities. Critics point to a number of problems with an expanded DOD role in many activities. Indeed, a key DOD document acknowledges that state-building tasks may be “best performed by indigenous, foreign, or U.S. civilian professionals.” Nevertheless, although reluctant to divert personnel from combat functions, DOD officials believe that the U.S. military must develop its own capacity to carry out such activities in the absence of appropriate civilian forces. In the second session of the 110th Congress, Members have faced several choices regarding the DOD role in foreign assistance. The Bush Administration has proposed legislation to make permanent two controversial DOD authorities. It has also proposed legislation to enable U.S. government civilian personnel to perform some of the tasks currently carried out by the U.S. military, as well as to form a civilian reserve corps for that purpose. Congress may also consider options to improve DOD coordination with civilian agencies on foreign assistance activities. Contents Introduction ......................................................1 Overview: DOD’s Evolving Response to Perceived Needs .................3 Responding to Humanitarian and Basic Needs .......................6 Evolution of Humanitarian Programs, Authorities, and Funding Since the 1980s ............................................6 Disaster Relief and Related Humanitarian Assistance..............7 Humanitarian and Civic Assistance in the Context of Military Training and Operations........................................7 New DOD Health Programs .................................8 Provincial Reconstruction Teams and Commander’s Emergency Response Program Funds in Afghanistan and Iraq ............8 Funding Accounts .........................................8 Perspectives on Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance............10 Building Military Capacity and Capabilities ........................11 Evolution of Military Assistance Authority .....................11 Perspectives on Building Foreign Military and Other Security Force Capacity.......................................16 Strengthening Foreign Governments Against Internal and International Threats.................................................18 Historical Precedents and Current Activities ....................18 Perspectives on State-Building ..............................19 Major Issues and Options for Congress................................21 What Are the Effects of DOD Activities on U.S. Foreign Relations and Foreign Policy Goals? .....................................21 Summary of Benefits......................................21 Summary of Critiques .....................................22 Relative Costs ...........................................24 Can Current DOD and State Department Coordination Be Improved? ....25 Congress’s Role in Specifying Interagency Coordination..........25 Interagency Coordination in Practice..........................27 Current Initiatives to Improve Interagency Coordination ..........28 Further Considerations and Options ..........................29 Should Civilian Capabilities to Carry Out Foreign Assistance Activities Be Enhanced?............................................31 DOD Manpower and Budget Advantages ......................31 Possible Options to Enhance U.S. Government Civilian Capabilities .........................................33 Need to Examine Other Civilian Capabilities ...................34 Appendix A. Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Assistance, Including Civic Action.................................................36 DOD Roles and Responsibility ..................................36 DOD Disaster and Other Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Recovery Assistance: Activities and Authorities .................37 DOD Humanitarian Assistance in the Context of Military Operations and Military Exercises: Activities and Authorities ...............38 Section 401 Humanitarian and Civic Action Activities, Conditions, and Coordination.....................................40 Section 401 Origins and Evolution ...........................41 Issues ......................................................43 Appendix B. DOD Global Health Programs ............................47 DOD Role and Responsibilities ..................................47 Origins and Evolution .........................................47 The Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS).......................................47 DOD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program .........................48 Issues ......................................................49 Appendix C. Department of Defense Humanitarian Mine Action Program ....50 DOD Role and Responsibilities ..................................50 Origins.....................................................50 Activities and Evolution .......................................51 Issues ......................................................52 Appendix D. Foreign Military Sales and Financing Program ...............53 DOD Role and Responsibilities ..................................53 Origins and Evolution .........................................54 Issues ......................................................55 Appendix E. International Military Education and Training Program .........56 DOD Role and Responsibilities ..................................56 Origins and Evolution .........................................56 Activities ...................................................57 Issues ......................................................58 Appendix F. Counternarcotics .......................................59 DOD Roles and Responsibilities .................................59 Origins.....................................................59 Evolution...................................................60 Recent Activities .............................................63 Colombia and the Andean Region............................63 Afghanistan .............................................63 Mexico.................................................64 Issues ......................................................64 Appendix G. Foreign Anti-Terrorism and Counterterrorism Train and Equip Assistance and Education Programs.........................67 DOD Role and Responsibilities ..................................67 Origins and Evolution .........................................68 Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership ...................68 Regional Strategic Initiatives (RSI) ...........................70 DOD Counterterrorism Fellowship Program ....................70 Issues ......................................................71 Appendix H. Foreign Military Capacity Building Section 1206 Authority .....73 DOD Role and Responsibility ...................................73 Origins and Evolution .........................................73