ABSTRACT
Several distinct trends were evident in the growing international traffic in weapons, military supplies, equipment, and other support requirements. Military assistance other than arms also flowed primarily to the developing nations. US military assistance and arms transfers were in some cases tied to the human rights records of recipient nations. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also increased its provision of other forms of military help to the extent that by the close of the 1970s, Soviet advisers and construction sites were seen throughout the world, the single exception being North America. Military assistance thus should be viewed as a more all-encompassing concept than arms transfers. Military aid in common usage refers to military assistance, including arms transfers, under grant and occasionally credit terms. Military assistance and arms transfers have thus become tools of foreign policy in noncommunist as well as communist countries. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
