ABSTRACT
Many academics, current and former government officials, and African interest groups persist in the belief that military aid to African nations is not only misguided but morally wrong. They argue that African problems are economic rather than military, that such aid supports authoritarian regimes, and that rather than introducing superpower competition to the region through arms transfers, the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies should and could guarantee the entire continent against subversion and aggression. US security assistance has been "fairly constant and relatively insignificant". The region currently accounts for about 6 percent of the annual US security assistance budget. Each security assistance effort should be more closely examined to determine its short- and long-term effects on the recipient country, especially in terms of what one official calls the "criterios of applicability."
