Page 1 GAO-17-255R Building Partner Capacity
March 24, 2017
Congressional Committees
Building Partner Capacity: Inventory of Department of Defense Security Cooperation and
Department of State Security Assistance Efforts
Since the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001, the U.S. government has
engaged in numerous efforts to build the capacity of foreign partners to address security-related
threats—an objective that has become increasingly prominent in U.S. national security strategy
and foreign policy in recent years. Much of U.S. assistance intended for this purpose has been
undertaken as security cooperation efforts by the Department of Defense (DOD) and as security
assistance efforts by the Department of State (State), with the help of various implementing
partners.
1
However, according to the RAND Corporation (RAND), the rapid growth of legal
authorities and programs associated with security cooperation and assistance has led to
redundancies, limitations, and gaps.
2
RAND also noted that this rapid growth of legal authorities
and programs has led to expanding demands on DOD staff who must navigate through them as
well as through unsynchronized processes, resources, programs, and organizations to execute
individual initiatives with partner nations. Members of Congress have raised questions about the
proliferation and duplication of efforts to build partner security capabilities and the supporting
legal authorities. In addition, Members of Congress have raised questions about whether DOD
security cooperation efforts lack strategic direction and may not act in concert with other efforts.
House Armed Services Committee Report 114-102, accompanying the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 (H.R.1735), includes a provision for us to report
on an inventory of DOD security cooperation programs intended to build partner security
capabilities.
3
DOD defines these programs as including DOD-administered State security
assistance activities. According to DOD and State officials, no sanctioned U.S. government
1
Other U.S. agencies that may have a role in security cooperation and security assistance efforts include the
Department of Energy and components of the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.
2
David E. Thaler et al., From Patchwork to Framework: A Review of Title 10 Authorities for Security Cooperation
(Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2016). The report observes that the complex patchwork of legal authorities
for security cooperation programs has resulted in differing interpretations of what the authorities allow. The research
was sponsored by DOD.
3
The committee report’s provision also requested that the inventory include funding data for each of the programs.
However, according to DOD officials, it is not feasible for DOD to provide the individual program amount and total
amount of funding for all DOD security cooperation programs intended to build partner security capabilities due to (1)
the lack of agreed-upon definition and listing of these programs and (2) the difficulty in identifying funding for
programs that do not have a single direct line of funding.
