New 1206 Projects Begin

The Defense Department earlier this month kicked off $63.5 million worth of new security assistance projects to provide counterterrorism training and equipment to five nations -- Lebanon, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Maldives and Mauritania, according to Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Bob Mehal.

The allocation for the new projects, according to Mehall:

- Lebanon: $23,000,000
- Bangladesh: $7,019,000
- Mauritania: $6,440,000
- Indonesia Aviation Upgrade: $11,760,000
- Indonesia Maritime Security: $10,775,000
- Maldives: $3,910,000

These programs -- drawn up in cooperation with the State Department -- bring total spending in fiscal year 2010 on “global train and equip programs,” authorized under the so-called Section 1206 authority, to $301.6 million. The Defense Department is authorized to spend $350 million in FY-10 on these “dual-key” security assistance programs.

Under his 1206 authority, the defense secretary -- with the concurrence of the secretary of state -- can sponsor a program to build the capacity of a foreign nation's military forces in order to either participate in a military operation alongside U.S. forces or conduct counterterrorism operations.

This spring, the Pentagon began programs to boost counterterrorism capabilities in Yemen and the Philippines as well as projects to assist the armed forces of nations set to deploy troops to Afghanistan.

More details on the current round of programs were reported by Inside the Pentagon when Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in mid-June. Since then, these efforts cleared a 15-day congressional notification period without objection from any lawmaker, allowing the new projects to proceed, according to Mehal.