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U.S. Military Assistance to Latin America: An Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

John M. Baines
John M. Baines*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
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Extract

This paper examines the nature of the U.S. Military Assistance Program (MAP) to Latin America and the historical development of the Military Assistance Program in the hemisphere. It further analyzes this program with regard to the two major criticisms levelled at it:

  1. (1) that Military Assistance Programs have perpetuated “militarism” in the form of military coups and strong-man military regimes; and

  2. (2) that Military Assistance Programs have encouraged large military forces where they are not needed.

Changes in U.S. policy toward Latin America are noted as they affect MAP—i.e., the shift in U.S. policy from one of fostering hemispheric defense to one of promoting internal security and economic development. Finally, an assessment of the impact of this change in U.S. military assistance policy forms the conclusion of this paper.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 14 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Military and Reform Governments in Latin America , November 1972 , pp. 469 - 488
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1972

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References

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[1] Congress, House of Representatives, Foreign Affairs Committee (1964) Foreign Assistance and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1965 Hearings, Eighty-Eighth Congress. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

[2] Subcommittee (1971) Military Assistance Training. Ninety-First Congress. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

[3] (1970) Military Assistance Training and Developmental Television. Ninety-First Congress. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

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[6] Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations (1961) International Development and Security. Eighty-Seventh Congress. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

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