Scott Nathanson

Scott Nathanson is a senior researcher for Demilitarization for Democracy, an organization that advocates reductions in the size of military establishments in developing nations. In the following viewpoint, he criticizes U.S. policy of providing training and equipment to the armed forces of African nations, such as that provided in 1997 through the Africa Crisis Response Initiative. African armies in too many cases have little regard for human rights and civilian rule, he asserts. Because of this, U.S. military assistance not only does little to prevent conflict, but can instead be used to help armies repress political dissent. Nathanson concludes that U.S. military aid should be withheld from nations under undemocratic regimes.

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1. What examples of U.S. military aid to Africa does...