The U.S. and its allies face expanding foreign cyber threats as international trade, communication, and critical infrastructure grow increasingly dependent on cyberspace. In 2019, the State Department said it would establish a Bureau of Cyberspace Security and Emerging Technologies to focus on the issue. State works with other federal agencies on international cyber issues. However, it has not inf...

The principle of rule of law holds that all are subject to and equal before a nation’s laws. It serves as a foundation for democratic governance and economic growth, and helps combat crime and extremism. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development allocated more than $2.7 billion for rule of law assistance in FY 2014-2018. Afghanistan, Colombia, and Mexico got 40%. Mo...

Weaknesses in the Department of Defense’s oversight of the support it has provided to foreign partners have resulted in thousands of overdue reimbursements. Through its Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements, DOD provides foreign partners with reimbursable support such as meals, aerial refueling, munitions (for example some used in Saudi-led Coalition activities in Yemen), and more. However...

The United States provided nearly $1.5 billion in weapons, training, and other assistance to Lebanese security forces between 2013 and 2018. We reviewed how State and DOD oversaw and assessed the effectiveness of this assistance in several areas. For example: State and DOD found Lebanese forces improved in key areas, such as border security, but gaps in performance information limited State's ab...

The United States has been building Afghanistan’s security forces to help counter terrorist threats. Since 2005, Congress has appropriated more than $78.8 billion to build, equip, train, and sustain these forces. Concerns have been raised in Congress about the high cost of training contracts (about $4.3 billion so far). Officials told us that their original contracting approach made it harder f...

In 2007, Mexico and the United States created the Mérida Initiative, a partnership to address crime and violence and enhance the rule of law in Mexico. From fiscal year 2014 through 2018, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development allocated about $723 million for the initiative. State projects included training and assistance for Mexican justice sector, military, law...

Promoting respect for human rights is a U.S. foreign policy goal. The United States includes human rights training when training foreign security forces. A 2017 law required DOD to evaluate its security cooperation programs, including its human rights training. DOD and State have not evaluated the effectiveness of their human rights training. We made 3 recommendations, including that the agencie...

Threats to U.S. national security continue to evolve with technological, economic, and social changes. Federal agencies identified 26 long-term threats within 4 categories: 1) Adversaries' Political and Military Advancements—e.g., China's increasing ability to match the U.S. military's strength. 2) Dual-Use Technologies—e.g., self-driving cars might be developed for private use, but militar...

The U.S. government has invested over $10 billion in counternarcotics and security efforts in Colombia since 1999. Security has improved but cocaine production has more than tripled from 2013 through 2017. The U.S. counternarcotics approach in Colombia includes disrupting drug trafficking, destroying coca crops, and supporting alternative livelihoods for coca farmers. We found the State Departmen...

Over 20 U.S. diplomats and family members in Cuba have suffered injuries—such as brain damage—believed to be connected to unexplained incidents. After incidents involving serious injury, the State Department is generally required to assess State's response and improve security. However, State’s office responsible for convening that review learned of the incidents in Cuba from media reports...

Providing training and equipment to the nation's foreign partners is one of the Department of Defense's approaches to fighting terrorism. We reviewed the Global Train and Equip program and found that DOD allocated $4.1 billion for the program in fiscal years 2009 through 2017. In addition, we looked at how thoroughly proposals for Global Train and Equip projects addressed security assistance pla...

The United States has provided over $2 billion in equipment to Iraq's security forces through the Iraq Train and Equip Fund to counter the expansion of ISIS. However, the Department of Defense does not collect timely and accurate transportation information about the equipment purchased through the fund. As a result, DOD can't demonstrate that this equipment reached its intended destinations in Ir...