Author Description

This paper studies the US security assistance program to Jordan during the Cold War. There are many publications written about US policy in the Middle East and how the US uses security assistance in its arsenal of tools; and a lot has been written about Jordan and its role within the Middle East. However, covers security assistance to Jordan. This thesis seeks to fill this gap in the literature. To accomplish this, a short history of US security assistance followed by a history of Jordan sets the stage for an analysis of the program from the US perspective. To analyze the program, a set of measures of effectiveness of US security assistance were developed and then applied to Jordan. These measures of effectiveness include: refrain from attacking Israel, promote regime stability and maintain leadership, keep Jordan in the US camp, keep Jordanian military strong, sign a peace treaty with Israel, and promote democracy and regime liberalization. The conclusion of the paper will reveal the US security assistance program to Jordan was effective. The paper will also provide ways to further analyze the program and provide suggestions on how to improve it.