Chris Dodd: “as we consider the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill today, many of my colleagues may think that by reviewing the…”

“as we consider the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill today, many of my colleagues may think that by reviewing the provisions of the bill with respect to funding for International Military Education and Training (IMET) they will have a full picture of the total U.S. spending for the training of foreign military personnel that is proposed for fiscal year 1999. Based on that review, they might conclude that the Administration will spend approximately $50 million for training of military personnel from some 113 countries, or roughly the same as has been spent on IMET during the current fiscal year. However, that conclusion would not be accurate. While it is true that the Congress gets a very detailed accounting of the nature and level of IMET spending annually, a recent series of articles that appeared in the Washington Post revealed that a great deal more training of foreign military personnel was ongoing totally outside the framework of IMET programs. The fact of the matter is that training of foreign military personnel is now being undertaken using funds from a variety of other accounts under the control of the State Department or the Defense Department.”