Special Report
May, 2002

Appendix 1: Who’s Minding the Store?
Annual Oversight Calendar for U.S. Overseas Training Programs

Until the 1990s, Congress paid for most foreign military training through the foreign aid budget—which the State Department presents, the foreign relations committees of Congress authorize, and the foreign operations subcommittees appropriate. Increasingly, however, the armed services committees, with jurisdiction over Pentagon spending, are authorizing more of the overseas training programs and operations. Unfortunately, the armed services and foreign relations committees in the two chambers of Congress operate largely in isolation from each other. As a result, one committee will sometimes legislate a ban on military aid and training to a particular country while the other will be authorizing a new or expanded program for that same country.

For example, in 1992, Congress—under the leadership of its foreign aid committees—cut off IMET funding for Indonesia in response to a massacre by Indonesian troops of peaceful demonstrators in East Timor the previous year. Members of Congress who backed this initiative apparently believed that they had cut off all U.S. operational and lethal military training for the Indonesian armed forces. However, from 1992 to May 1998 the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy Special Forces continued to train Indonesian Special Forces units through 36 JCET exercises.41

The Pentagon had been reporting annually to the military oversight committees in Congress about these and other JCET exercises, as required by law. Apparently, however, no one in Congress was reviewing these reports, and/or they were not shared with the foreign aid committees. Responding to a seeming lack of congressional interest, the Pentagon proposed in early 1998 that this reporting requirement be eliminated as too onerous and unnecessary. However, when the Washington Post reported on the JCET exercises in mid-1998, Congress finally took note and legislated increased oversight measures for this program.

Then, in 2001, the Bush administration sought to scale back the annual Foreign Military Training Report as too onerous. Without the Foreign Military Training Report (which is itself still far from comprehensive), congressional staff and the public have even less of a window through which to view U.S. training activities.

A central conclusion of this Foreign Policy In Focus report is that congressional oversight of foreign military training programs is vital. The following is a summary of annual reports that the administration is obliged to submit to Congress on or related to foreign military training. The due dates are provided, although in many cases these are observed in the breach—if at all. The required reports are listed in chronological order:

January 1: U.S. military activities in Colombia42
Secretary of defense sends an annual report to foreign relations and armed services committees detailing the number of members of U.S. armed forces deployed or otherwise assigned to duty in Colombia during the preceding fiscal year, the length and purpose of their stay, and the costs and risks associated with their deployments.

January 31: Foreign Military Training Report43
The secretaries of defense and state are required to produce an annual Foreign Military Training Report. The law requires that the contents include the aggregate number of students trained and the aggregate cost of training (to the U.S.), the foreign policy justification and purpose for the activity, the number of trainees by country, their home unit of operation, and the location of the training. It also calls for the report to be unclassified, but permits classified annexes. All unclassified portions are to be posted on the Internet.
The first iteration of this report, covering training during FY 1998 and FY 1999, was massive, not terribly well-presented, and full of inconsistencies and errors. Nevertheless, it provided a tremendous window into U.S. training. It covered all countries receiving U.S. military training and included information on training purchased with foreign nations’ funds. Also of great interest, it showed where foreign soldiers were studying in the U.S. and which foreign units these trainees came from.
In 1999, Congress directed that this report be published annually and that it be put on the Internet, thereby enhancing possibilities for public oversight of training programs and trainees. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense has used this requirement—intended to increase transparency—as an excuse for reducing the amount of information released. In particular, notation of foreign military personnel’s unit designations was dropped, as was the location of the training. In addition, NATO allies were dropped from the report, as was detailed information about training purchased by foreign nations.
A bill pending before Congress in 2002 would require the previous level of disclosure—that is, information about which unit a trainee comes from and the location of training within the United States.44 Such information is vital to human rights activists and investigators and would enable them to use the report to ensure that U.S. trainees are not committing human rights violations. The latest version of this report, published in 2001, can be found at http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/fmtrpt/2001/.

February 1: Unit exchanges45
The President is required to send Congress a listing of reciprocal military training exchanges, whereby foreign soldiers can attend U.S. training institutions free of charge and U.S. soldiers attend similar institutions overseas within a year’s time. The report is to cover all activities conducted under this program during the preceding fiscal year, including the estimated costs of training and related support provided by the U.S. to each country and the estimated value provided to the U.S. by that country.

February 1: Consolidated military assistance report46
The secretaries of state and defense are required to compile a comprehensive report on military assistance provided in the preceding fiscal year to each and all countries. The report must be published on the web and include all military articles, services, and training authorized and delivered (excluding those covert programs run under the National Security Act of 1947). While the report includes commercial arms deals licensed for export by the State Department, it does not currently provide data on private military contractors licensed to train foreign militaries.

March 1: Humanitarian assistance worldwide47
A report is due on humanitarian and other assistance carried out during the preceding fiscal year. This report is to be submitted to the foreign relations and armed services committees, and it is to include the list of countries in which operations took place, the type of activities in each country, and the amount of taxpayer money expended. Covered activities include demining training.

March 1: Bilateral and multilateral military exercises48
The secretary of defense is to send Congress a report listing the developing countries for which the U.S. has paid the costs of participation in bilateral or multilateral military exercises during the preceding fiscal year.

March 1: International narcotics and law enforcement aid49
The secretary of state is to report annually to the appropriate committees on assistance provided or proposed to be provided by the U.S. government during the preceding, current, and next fiscal years to support international efforts to combat illicit drug production or trafficking. The report is to specify the amount and nature of assistance, including training.

March 15: School of the Americas50
The secretary of defense, in cooperation with the secretary of state, is to submit to Congress a report detailing the activities of the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, GA—now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation—during the preceding fiscal year.

March 31: China contacts51
The secretary of defense must submit to the armed services committees a report on U.S.-China military-to-military contacts during the period since the last such report. Among other things, the report is to include a list of upcoming exchanges scheduled for the next 12 months. A report, due on March 31, 2000, was required to list all general and flag grade officers of China’s Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) who have visited U.S. military installations since January 1, 1993, plus a list of the facilities visited. The report is to be unclassified, but can have a classified annex.

April 1: JCET exercises52
The assistant secretary of defense for special operations sends a report to Congress on Special Operations Forces training abroad with friendly forces during the preceding fiscal year. Each report is to specify all countries in which training was conducted; the type of training undertaken, including whether such training was related to counternarcotics or counterterrorism activities; the duration of the exercise; the number of U.S. and foreign soldiers involved in the training event; and the affiliation of foreign troops. It also includes the relationship of this training to other overseas training programs, such as military exercises sponsored by the joint chiefs of staff or by one of the combatant commands, or military training activities sponsored by a military department (including deployments for training and unit training events). Finally, the report is to include a summary of expenses under this section. Although not classified, these reports are generally not available to the public.

Mid-May 2002: Military aid and training to Uzbekistan53
While not put into binding law, the conference report for the FY 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act calls on the secretary of state to submit a report describing U.S. weapons, services, and financial assistance provided to Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan’s use of these weapons and services during the preceding six months. A second report is due ten months later. The request derives from concerns about Uzbekistan’s lack of democracy and abuse of human rights.

No specified date: Training or assistance to Azerbaijan54
Within 60 days of providing military training or assistance to Azerbaijan, the executive branch must report to the foreign operations subcommittees of the appropriations committees. In December 2001, Congress waived section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which had prohibited military aid to Azerbaijan for the past decade due to its conflict with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Such assistance may now be undertaken if deemed necessary to support operational readiness of U.S. armed forces or coalition partners.

No specified date: Consolidated DOD antiterror programs55
The Defense Department is required to provide Congress with an annual consolidated budget justification (in both classified and unclassified form) that includes all programs and activities undertaken by the DOD for combating terrorism. Semi-annual reports (due April 15 and November 15) are also required on the actual expenditure of funds under these programs.