An overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East (ME) from FY 2005-2009, and of the FY 2010 budget request. Includes a brief history of aid to the region, a review of foreign aid levels, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. U.S. aid policy has gradually evolved from a focus on preventing Soviet influence from gaining a foothold in the region and from maintaining a neutral stance in the Arab-Israeli conflict, to strengthening Israel¿s military and economy and using foreign aid as an incentive to foster peace agreements between countries in the region. After the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam, the ME as a whole began to receive more U.S. foreign aid than any other region of the world.

Contents: (1) U.S.-Israeli Relations and the Role of Foreign Aid; (2) U.S. Bilateral Military Aid to Israel: A 10-Year Military Aid Agreement; Foreign Military Financing; Ongoing U.S.-Israeli Defense Procurement Negotiations; (3) Defense Budget Appropriations for U.S.-Israeli Missile Defense Programs: Multi-Layered Missile Defense; High Altitude Missile Defense System; (4) Aid Restrictions and Possible Violations: Israeli Arms Sales to China; Israeli Settlements; (5) Other Ongoing Assistance and Cooperative Programs: Migration and Refugee Assistance; Loan Guarantees for Economic Recovery; American Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program; U.S.-Israeli Scientific and Business Cooperation; (6) Historical Background. Illustrations.

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East from FY2002 to FY2006, and of the FY2007 budget request. It includes a brief history of aid to the region, a review of foreign aid levels, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. It will be updated periodically to reflect recent developments. For foreign aid terminology and acronyms, please see the glossary appended to this report. Congress both authorizes and appropriates foreign assistance and conducts oversight of executive agencies' management of aid programs. As a region, the Middle East is the largest annual recipient of U.S. economic and military aid. With Iraq in need of long-term reconstruction assistance, many analysts expect Iraq to become a regular recipient of U.S. foreign aid. For policymakers, foreign assistance plays a key role in advancing U.S. foreign policy goals in the Middle East. The United States has a number of interests in the region, ranging from support for the state of Israel and Israel's peaceful relations with its Arab neighbors, to the protection of vital petroleum supplies and the fight against international terrorism. U.S. assistance helps to maintain the 1979 Camp David peace accords ...

What does US aid “buy” in the Middle East? Drawing on extensive primary source research, this book examines the role and consequences of US aid to three countries in the Middle East. The author argues that the political survival strategies of incumbent leaders in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan shaped not only the type of aid that these countries received from the US, but also its developmental and geopolitical impact. Leaders who relied heavily on distributing selective benefits to their ruling coalitions were more likely to receive forms of US aid that complemented their distributive political economies and undermined the state’s developmental capacity, which simultaneously rendered them more dependent on US resources, and more likely to cede fragments of their sovereignty to their major donor. Non-distributive leaders, however, could reap the full benefits of highly discretionary and technologically sophisticated aid, incorporating it into developmental policies that rendered them progressively less dependent on Washington—and better able to say “no” when it was in their best interest.

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East from FY2003 to FY2007, and of the FY2008 budget request. It includes a brief history of aid to the region, a review of foreign aid levels, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues.

"Explores the current state of US security cooperation in the Middle East, considering why the military capabilities of US allies in the region are still lacking and suggesting avenues for effective change"--

One major dilemma regarding US foreign policy is when and how the US should address human rights around the globe and what responsibility exists for the US to promote human rights in the countries that receive US aid. Does US policy for foreign assistance really address human rights or is it merely another instrument in the US foreign policy toolbox? This insightful book addresses several key themes and questions revolving around the complex nature of US foreign policy and human rights. It examines US foreign policy and human rights, as well as the evolution of US assistance, and includes empirical evidence and case studies of Plan Colombia, Turkey and the war on terror, India and Pakistan. It closes with a look at the future of foreign aid.