By Cliff Montgomery – Jan. 31st, 2010
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is a government watchdog group which “warn[s] the public and policy leaders of potential dangers from scientific and technical advances and…show[s] how good policy could increase the benefits of new scientific knowledge.”
Earlier this month, FAS released an issue brief which revealed the lack of public data regarding America’s arms exports and international arms transfers.
The American Spark has printed the introduction to the FAS brief below. We also have included basic information about the brief’s recommendations for improving the reports “on US arms transfers, many of which could be implemented at little or no cost.”
“Transparency is essential for effective congressional and public oversight of arms exports. Without complete and accurate data on the quantity, type and recipients of exported defense [i.e., war] articles and services, it is impossible to assess the extent to which arms transfers further national security and foreign policy.
“The US is widely recognized as one of the most transparent arms exporting countries in the world, and rightly so – few governments routinely publish as much data on arms transfers as the US government.
“Yet there is also significant room for improvement. Reporting on US arms transfers is often incomplete, unclear, and hampered by overly aggregated data. This is particularly true of information released to the public. The Obama Administration is clearly committed to improving transparency in government.
“Whether this commitment will translate into meaningful improvements in data on the arms trade remains to be seen.
“Below are eight recommendations for improving reporting on US arms transfers, many of which could be implemented at little or no cost.
“The first five recommendations focus on the Annual Military Assistance Report, also known as the ‘Section 655 report.’ Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act requires the compilation of an annual report on weapons and other defense technology exported by the US.
“[The ‘Section 655 report] includes data on deliveries of items sold through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, licenses issued for commercial sales, items authorized and furnished through the Excess Defense Articles Program, and Draw-down Assistance. This report is among the most detailed and comprehensive sources of data on US arms exports available to the public, yet it suffers from several significant shortcomings that limit access to – and the utility of – the data in the report.
“The first five recommendations would address many of these shortcomings.
“The final three recommendations address gaps in data on certain programs and authorities, highlight the need for an overhaul of congressional notification requirements for major arms sales, and call for annual submissions of data on transfers of small arms and light weapons to the UN Arms Register.”
“Recommendation 1: Publish detailed delivery data on commercial arms sales in the Section 655 report.
“Recommendation 2: Revise the commodity categories used in the Section 655 report so that they are clear, consistent, narrow and specific.
“Recommendation 3: Convert the Section 655 report into an online database.
“Recommendation 4: Automatically prepare and release a public version of the data on Foreign Military Sales, Excess Defense Articles and Emergency Drawdowns in the Section 655 report.
“Recommendation 5: Revise the Section 655 report to make it more clear and user-friendly.
“Recommendation 6: Report annually on ALL international arms transfers exported from the US or funded by the US government.
“Recommendation 7: Revise the congressional notification requirements in Section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act.
“Recommendation 8: Submit data on international transfers of small arms and light weapons to the UN Register of Conventional Arms.”
