Iraq Stability: Foreign Military Sales in a New War Environment
Abstract
The United States uses Foreign Military Sales {FMS) programs as a way and means to achieve strategic security cooperation ends with foreign nations. In Iraq, the United States uses FMS as a diplomatic, informational, military, and economic instrument of national power to influence political-military action, train Iraqi Security Forces, and to benefit both nations economically. The United States remains Iraq's preferred FMS provider despite Russian competition and the bureaucratic FMS process. The sales promote Iraq's security and stability, U.S-Iraq security cooperation, and U.S. defense sales and acquisition programs. Since the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized territory in Iraq in early 2014, U.S.-Iraq FMS sales mainly consisted of emergent requirements such as ammunition and weapons; the security situation delayed larger cases including F-16 deliveries. 1 U.S. FMS strategy in Iraq should focus on counterrorism operations, increase end-user monitoring of U.S. equipment, and increase direct commercial sales to defeat ISIL in a new war context. The recommendations in this thesis seek to inform U.S. policymakers on future U.S. FMS strategy to Iraq and other countries where FMS agreements do not address asymmetric threat requirements or meet expected delivery timelines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 06, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA621665
Entities
People
- Alonzo J. Jones Iii
Organizations
- National Defense University