Huge Flow of US Military Aid, despite withholding of aid to Egypt
The United States will start withholding military aid to Egypt, three months after the military replaced the democratically elected government. On one hand, I understand the importance of keeping Egypt stable and the place our aid plays in it. And I also acknowledge the US has provided aid to governments of greater tyranny over the past 65 years than what is evident in Egypt. But it is about time the aid was turned off if aid is now contingent upon maintaining some form of democracy.
Also, Egypt is not likely be invaded in near future. The billion dollars of aid it would have received this year will not make much a difference to a military which has received, since 1978, almost 60 billion dollars in military aid. The army has over 3000 American made tanks and 1000 Russian made tanks (The United States has a little over 8,000 tanks). The only nation that has more current M1 Abrams tanks than Egypt (over 1000, of which 700 were produced in the US) is the United States. The only nation nearby that has anything close to that number of tanks is Israel, who has close to the same number of total tanks, but is in the process of selling most of them.
The aid has been very helpful to American arms manufacturers, as military aid comes in two forms, either a) surplus American weapons no longer used by the American armed forces or b) essentially a debit card with millions of dollars to buy current approved American weapons from the manufacturers. The story of Egypt's aid got me curious about our military aid in general, so I did some research. I found out that since 1946, 179 nations have received such aid in some form, with a total of 726 billion in current dollars. Egypt has received the third largest amount. Her total is greater than that of the total of 150 other countries since 1946. Only Israel (128 billion in current dollars) and South Vietnam before its demise (76 billion in current dollars) have received more aid from the US.
Forty two nations have received over one billion dollars in aid since the Second World War. Below are the regions and the percent of all US military aid given to those nations since 1946. Over 90 percent of military aid went to these 42 nations.
Some areas have received very little aid, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. Congo, in its former state as Zaire, Kenya, and Liberia together received more aid than the rest of the subcontinent combined. Eastern Europe began to receive aid with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Some countries have begun receiving aid relatively recently, particularly nations in Central Asia where American bases have sprung up.
The dollars in aid are in current 2011 dollars for current comparison.
It's staggering to see how aid compares to some nations' economies. Most of the aid to Afghanistan has in the 10 years (the data is through 2011) since 2001. So if the aid represents over 200 percent of the economy in 2011, then the aid in each of the ten years represents close to 20% of the economy. It is fascinating how vocal President Karzai has been in criticizing US actions in his country considering the billions of dollars in aid that support him and his friends.
Nations in Europe received aid in two deluges: first to Western Europe during the 50s and 60s in the establishment of NATO. The second deluge came after the breakup of the Soviet Union, as the US tried to modernize and Americanize the Eastern European armed forces.
By the way, if you would like the Excel file that I used to create this so you can sort by Region, Frequency, Country, GDP, etc, please contact me below. (One of my guilty pleasures is playing with information with Excel).
The nations on the page above include the smaller wars the US was involved in during the Cold War. Insurgencies in Central and South America as well as East Africa resulted in substantial investments of aid. It also includes the river of aid given to Zaire during the reign of Mobutu, the greatest amount in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though huge, it pales in comparison to that provided in Europe and the Middle East.
Many of the former republics of the Soviet Union began receiving aid in 2002 with the US military expansion in Central Asia. Some have never even had a fair election since becoming independent nations, yet the aid flows in. The smaller Eastern European nations created in the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia were creating new armies, some to fight each other, and the US jumped in to help.
During the Cold War, the US was worried that Cuba would export revolutions to the small Caribbean island nations that continued to cater to American tourists and sugar growers, so they received millions of dollars to defend themselves. The US even provided some aid to former republics of the Soviet Union that were still very connected to Russia.
There are a couple dozen nations who have received no aid from the US, because of their neutrality and/or a desire to develop their own arms industries (Switzerland, Sweden), an abundance of funds for purchasing arms rather than relying on charity (Qatar, Kuwait) or a lack of consequence in international power struggles (Andorra, Bhutan). Other nations, particularly island states in the Pacific are under the military umbrella of other other countries, principally Australia.
Perhaps future trade-offs in the American budget process may affect the volume of military aid. Some Americans are opposed to any US foreign aid based on isolationist policies. Others appreciated the jobs it has provided in a manufacturing sector that has declined since WWII. For a long time the US and the Soviet Union were the principal arms manufacturers. Today there is more competition in the arms marketplace, as more and more nations are developing their own arms industries, both for their own use and international sales. Western Europe and Japan were the first to develop their own industries after their economies rebuilt from the ruins of WWII, eclipsing the need for US aid. Other nations, such as Brazil, Israel, South Africa, India, and Australia have gone from importers of arms to exporters. American military aid usually carries the requirement that arms be purchased from US manufacturers.
Military aid is an entrenched element of American foreign policy, thanks due to the loyalty earned from recipients of aid to the United States and the loyalty earned from congressmen representing districts producing arms for export. Franklin Roosevelt vowed to make the US the Arsenal of Democracy. Though always an arsenal for the world, the US was not always arming allies of democracy, both during the Cold War and during the current assortment of conflicts loosely labelled the War on Terror. The nations receiving aid today vary from the truly democratic to the truly despotic.
It has sometimes kept democracy alive in conflicts with opponents, such as in Western Europe (though those same European nations were sometimes suppressing revolt in their empires with the same weapons). It has sometimes been squandered in long painful drains of life and treasure, such as in South Vietnam. The ultimate triumph of the US arms merchants--conflicts where American military aid is used by both sides of a conflict--happened from time to time. I recall news footage during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 of Israeli and Jordanian forces shooting at each other with the same American self-propelled artillery pieces.
Perhaps the withholding of aid to Egypt may encourage review of aid to other nations with oppressive governments. Much of the aid shown above was provided to the lesser of two evils. Many people have been killed with the weapons provided. But many people stayed free because of the aid provided. Only time will tell whether future aid will be worthwhile or not.
Also, Egypt is not likely be invaded in near future. The billion dollars of aid it would have received this year will not make much a difference to a military which has received, since 1978, almost 60 billion dollars in military aid. The army has over 3000 American made tanks and 1000 Russian made tanks (The United States has a little over 8,000 tanks). The only nation that has more current M1 Abrams tanks than Egypt (over 1000, of which 700 were produced in the US) is the United States. The only nation nearby that has anything close to that number of tanks is Israel, who has close to the same number of total tanks, but is in the process of selling most of them.
The aid has been very helpful to American arms manufacturers, as military aid comes in two forms, either a) surplus American weapons no longer used by the American armed forces or b) essentially a debit card with millions of dollars to buy current approved American weapons from the manufacturers. The story of Egypt's aid got me curious about our military aid in general, so I did some research. I found out that since 1946, 179 nations have received such aid in some form, with a total of 726 billion in current dollars. Egypt has received the third largest amount. Her total is greater than that of the total of 150 other countries since 1946. Only Israel (128 billion in current dollars) and South Vietnam before its demise (76 billion in current dollars) have received more aid from the US.
Forty two nations have received over one billion dollars in aid since the Second World War. Below are the regions and the percent of all US military aid given to those nations since 1946. Over 90 percent of military aid went to these 42 nations.
- Middle East 32% - 6 nations received between them 1/3 of all military aid US provided (Israel, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia)
- Europe 26% - 15 member nations of NATO (Western Europe before and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact)
- SE Asia 14% - 4 nations were involved in the wars in Indo-China (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand)
- East Asia 12% - 5 nations formed part of the Cold War bulwark in Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines)
- Central Asia 7% - 2 nations in punitive wars for the 9/11 attacks (Afghanistan and nearby Pakistan)
- Americas 2% - 5 large nations (Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, & Chile) and one small, El Salvador, the site of bitter insurgencies in the 1980s
- North Africa 1% - 4 nations that were either rare moderate Arab states (Morocco, Tunisia) or the center of bitter wars (Sudan, Ethiopia)
Some areas have received very little aid, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. Congo, in its former state as Zaire, Kenya, and Liberia together received more aid than the rest of the subcontinent combined. Eastern Europe began to receive aid with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Some countries have begun receiving aid relatively recently, particularly nations in Central Asia where American bases have sprung up.
The dollars in aid are in current 2011 dollars for current comparison.
It's staggering to see how aid compares to some nations' economies. Most of the aid to Afghanistan has in the 10 years (the data is through 2011) since 2001. So if the aid represents over 200 percent of the economy in 2011, then the aid in each of the ten years represents close to 20% of the economy. It is fascinating how vocal President Karzai has been in criticizing US actions in his country considering the billions of dollars in aid that support him and his friends.
Nations in Europe received aid in two deluges: first to Western Europe during the 50s and 60s in the establishment of NATO. The second deluge came after the breakup of the Soviet Union, as the US tried to modernize and Americanize the Eastern European armed forces.
By the way, if you would like the Excel file that I used to create this so you can sort by Region, Frequency, Country, GDP, etc, please contact me below. (One of my guilty pleasures is playing with information with Excel).
The nations on the page above include the smaller wars the US was involved in during the Cold War. Insurgencies in Central and South America as well as East Africa resulted in substantial investments of aid. It also includes the river of aid given to Zaire during the reign of Mobutu, the greatest amount in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though huge, it pales in comparison to that provided in Europe and the Middle East.
Many of the former republics of the Soviet Union began receiving aid in 2002 with the US military expansion in Central Asia. Some have never even had a fair election since becoming independent nations, yet the aid flows in. The smaller Eastern European nations created in the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia were creating new armies, some to fight each other, and the US jumped in to help.
During the Cold War, the US was worried that Cuba would export revolutions to the small Caribbean island nations that continued to cater to American tourists and sugar growers, so they received millions of dollars to defend themselves. The US even provided some aid to former republics of the Soviet Union that were still very connected to Russia.
Sub-Saharan African countries sometimes received aid from their former colonial powers or the Soviet Union in their early days of independence, though they eventually took advantage of US offers of military equipment, particularly after 1992. Their shopping lists do not evidently include advanced jet fighters or tanks the prices of which start at 5 million dollars each.
There are a couple dozen nations who have received no aid from the US, because of their neutrality and/or a desire to develop their own arms industries (Switzerland, Sweden), an abundance of funds for purchasing arms rather than relying on charity (Qatar, Kuwait) or a lack of consequence in international power struggles (Andorra, Bhutan). Other nations, particularly island states in the Pacific are under the military umbrella of other other countries, principally Australia.
Perhaps future trade-offs in the American budget process may affect the volume of military aid. Some Americans are opposed to any US foreign aid based on isolationist policies. Others appreciated the jobs it has provided in a manufacturing sector that has declined since WWII. For a long time the US and the Soviet Union were the principal arms manufacturers. Today there is more competition in the arms marketplace, as more and more nations are developing their own arms industries, both for their own use and international sales. Western Europe and Japan were the first to develop their own industries after their economies rebuilt from the ruins of WWII, eclipsing the need for US aid. Other nations, such as Brazil, Israel, South Africa, India, and Australia have gone from importers of arms to exporters. American military aid usually carries the requirement that arms be purchased from US manufacturers.
Military aid is an entrenched element of American foreign policy, thanks due to the loyalty earned from recipients of aid to the United States and the loyalty earned from congressmen representing districts producing arms for export. Franklin Roosevelt vowed to make the US the Arsenal of Democracy. Though always an arsenal for the world, the US was not always arming allies of democracy, both during the Cold War and during the current assortment of conflicts loosely labelled the War on Terror. The nations receiving aid today vary from the truly democratic to the truly despotic.
It has sometimes kept democracy alive in conflicts with opponents, such as in Western Europe (though those same European nations were sometimes suppressing revolt in their empires with the same weapons). It has sometimes been squandered in long painful drains of life and treasure, such as in South Vietnam. The ultimate triumph of the US arms merchants--conflicts where American military aid is used by both sides of a conflict--happened from time to time. I recall news footage during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 of Israeli and Jordanian forces shooting at each other with the same American self-propelled artillery pieces.
Perhaps the withholding of aid to Egypt may encourage review of aid to other nations with oppressive governments. Much of the aid shown above was provided to the lesser of two evils. Many people have been killed with the weapons provided. But many people stayed free because of the aid provided. Only time will tell whether future aid will be worthwhile or not.
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