As we move to enhance U.S. defense capabilities, we must not lose sight of
the need to assist others in maintaining their own security and
independence. Events since World War II, most recently in Southwest Asia,
have amply demonstrated that U.S. security cannot exist in a vacuum, and
that our own prospects for peace are closely tied to those of our friends.
The security assistance programs which I am proposing for the coming fiscal
year thus directly promote vital U.S. foreign policy and national security
aims, and are integral parts of our efforts to improve and upgrade our own
military forces.
More specifically, these programs, which are part of our overall foreign
aid request, promote U.S. security in two principal ways. First, they
assist friendly and allied nations to develop the capability to defend
themselves and maintain their own independence. An example during this past
year was the timely support provided Thailand to help bolster that
country's defenses against the large numbers of Soviet-backed Vietnamese
troops ranged along its eastern frontier. In addition, over the years these
programs have been important to the continued independence of other friends
and allies such as Israel, Greece, Turkey and Korea. Second, security
assistance constitutes an essential element in the broad cooperative
relationships we have established with many nations which permit either
U.S. bases on their territory or access by U.S. forces to their facilities.
These programs have been particularly important with regard to the
recently-concluded access agreements with various countries in the Persian
Gulf and Indian Ocean regions and have been crucial to the protection of
our interests throughout Southwest Asia.