Foreign Military Sales a Good Thing or Bad?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:25:16 -0500

Is it a good idea to engage in foreign military sales with countries that could potentially become our enemies? I hope that this doesn't turn around and bite us in our ass. We have sold military aircraft and other sorts of defense equipment to countries that we have supports in the past only to break ties with them and have that equipment be used against us or against the wrong people. When we were allies with Iran, we supported them and sold them F-14 Tomcats, and now how is out relationship with them? We have supported Iraq twice and now we are considering selling them the most advanced, lethal attack helicopter in the world. And we even voice concerns on human rights and government corruption there. The United States supported the Mujahideen when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and where are we now? Even selling weapons to Mexico, these weapons tend to fall into the wrong hands and have been used against us. Where are our current operations at now? The War on Drugs along the US/Mexican Border, Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom? Do you worry that we should limit what we do with foreign militaries? I understand that foreign military sales pumps money into our economy, great! But do we ever consider if these sales might hurt us in the long run? Yes, I know that when we broke ties with Iran, we stopped selling them parts to repair their F-14s, but suppose one of those new AH-64E's was loaded with 16 Hellfire Missiles and shot the US Embassy. We dealt with blue on green attacks in Iraq and still have to deal with it here in Afghanistan.

Your thoughts please.

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140128/NEWS08/301280009/Agreement-reached-sell-billions-Apache-helicopters-Iraq

Agreement reached to sell billions in Apache helicopters to Iraq

A key congressional panel has finally removed obstacles to the White House's plan to sell 24 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to Iraq, along with spare parts and maintenance, in a massive $6.2 billi...

Response by LTC Richard Becker made Jan 29 at 2014 3:55 PM

LTC Richard Becker — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 15:55:38 -0500

I wholeheartedly support our foreign military sales for three reasons.

1. We never sell the capability sets we enjoy, so as to ensure we are technologically superior.

2. If we end up going to war against equipment we've sold, we know the capabilities and limitations of that equipment. We know how often it was maintained through our support contract history, and we know how often that particular customer trained on the equipment, which would tell us how proficient they are. This makes planning operations a tad bit simpler.

Finally, third, and most importantly, if we can gain economic partners through military sales, that opens up opportunities to strengthen our ties through other economic ventures. This then opens the door to stronger diplomatic ties, which provides opportunities to strengthen the relationship into an alliance. The more alliances we have, the better chance we have of shaping the world in accordance with our nations foreign policy goals and objectives.

It's true that like you say, it could come back and bite us, but we gain so much more in return, that I personally believe the risk is well worth it.

Response by SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA made Apr 6 at 2015 6:52 PM

SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 18:52:25 -0400

I don't have a problem with it.

If we curtail foreign sales, most companies wouldn't bother developing weapons and technology, because for as much as we buy their stuff, they also depend on foreign purchases.

The foreign sales program has limitations as to what technology set and what generation can be sold.

It also comes with training and support packages that we determine.

So in the event of an ally turning on us, we simply cut their support channel and they are left with weapons systems they cant use and with capabilities that are behind what we have.

Those vaunted Iranian F-14s are currently relegated to fly overs and show of force missions, nothing else. Most of the fleet has been cannibalized, the weaponry and avionics has been patched up from other systems and frankly, I give those pilots kudos for flying an aircraft that can come crashing down at any time.

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