The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

able to the provision of military assistance. In the most recent defense authorization bill, again hard-pressed by the Defense Department, members of Congress dropped the requirement that Section 1206 assistance be provided only upon direction by the presi- dent and gave the authority directly to the Secretary of Defense. The amount was increased to $300 million. Section 1206 security assistance is now being extend- ed to some 14 countries: Algeria, Chad, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, São Tome & Principe, Thailand, Yemen, Senegal and Sri Lanka. A number of the 2006 projects focus on strengthening recipient countries’ coast guard equivalents or navies. Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, São Tome & Principe, the Dominican Republic and Panama are receiving 1206 funding for maritime surveillance and communications equipment and training. The administration continues to seek part- ners willing and able to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative, an American-led multilateral effort to coordinate and develop procedures for intercepting smugglers of unconventional weapons. Gaining greater control of maritime transportation routes can reduce drug and gun trafficking, exploitation of human beings, pirating and other illegal activities. Other programs in Yemen and in the trans-Sahara focus on increasing the recipient nations’ ability to secure land borders and track and attack terrorist networks. Overall in fiscal year 2006, $200 million in funding was appropriated. Only $100 million of that amount has been obligated, an indication that the initially claimed urgency for the funding was questionable. In the 2007 budget, $300 million has been authorized for Section 1206 fund- ing and a request of $750 million is expected for 2008. Special Operations Forces. The Special Opera- tions Command takes the lead for planning, synchroniz- ing and, as directed, executing global operations against terrorists and their networks. Beyond its instrumental role in Iraq and Afghanistan, the command has provided to regional commands some 1,000 special operations troops for service in 50 different countries. Its baseline budget has increased since 9/11 from $4 billion to almost $8 billion. According to Commander General Bryan D. Brown, the special forces are expected to grow by some 13,000 personnel over the next five years. Special operations forces are part of the new mix of military personnel at U.S. embassies and provide infor- mation to their relevant combatant commanders. They also undertake military-to-military training, specifically for counterterrorism. Joint Combined Exchange Training teams arrive for short duration training of some one to three weeks and Joint Planning and Assistance teams are embedded for long-term training, with U.S. trainers rotating on a six-month schedule. Development and Humanitarian Assistance. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the military has often had to take on emergency reconstruction tasks. There has been an effort to create a more robust civilian capability to work in hostile environments, but the State Department-orga- nized effort is still nascent and civilian agencies, especial- ly USAID, are still cobbling together ad hoc teams that, while talented and dedicated, are limited in number. As a result, military civil affairs teams have built bridges, schools and hospitals, organized local political councils, and provided humanitarian relief. Much of the funding came from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, initially supported by the hundreds of millions of dollars found in Saddam F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 55 © 2007, The Washington Post Writers Group. Reprinted with permission.