Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States had embarked on a policy of containment — the policy of curbing the expansionist ambitions of the Soviet Union. The reason the U.S. cared about South Asia was that China was falling into the communist bloc. The United States feared that other Asian countries would not be affected. Thus, the United States turned to India and Pakistan to form a strategic bulwark against Sino_ Soviet communism. Initially, the US showed little interest in Pakistan and was more inclined to India trying to lure it into an alliance. However, India is committed to a non-aligned position. Their policies of non-alignment, refusal to adhere to the 1951 US-sponsored pact, and denial of Chinese aggression during the Korean War (1950-19531) led the US to lean towards Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan`s condemnation of the North Koreans as aggressors and reaction to US policies and overtures were enough to force the Americans to consider an alliance with Pakistan as an alternative. As a result, Pakistan and the United States grew closer and concluded a defense mutual assistance agreement on May 19, 1954. This also led Pakistan to join the Covenants of OTESAO and Baghdad – later CENTO.
The 1949 Act was amended and re-approved on 26 July 1950. [4] In 1951, the Economic Cooperation Act and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act were replaced by the Mutual Security Act and its newly created independent agency, the Mutual Security Administration, to oversee all foreign assistance programs, including military assistance programs and non-military economic assistance programs that strengthened the defense capabilities of U.S. allies. [5] As the Cold War developed, these actions were part of U.S. policy to contain communism. They primarily provided defence assistance to any ally likely to be attacked by the Soviet Union or one of its allies, while other programmes provided non-military economic assistance. In Asia, programmes were expanded with the newly formed Maoist People`s Republic of China and other regions, with the development of country-specific missions, including those in Austria (1947-50), China (1946-48), Ireland (1948-51) and Trieste (1947-52). [10] Since the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty, the countries of the North Atlantic Community have made considerable progress in their cooperation for mutual security. Their joint action will contribute significantly to increasing the effectiveness of the assistance to be provided under this Act. Further progress in these common defence arrangements will provide the full level of protection that this law offers to this country and other nations.
The main goal of our foreign policy is to create peaceful and stable conditions around the world so that people can live happier and more fruitful lives. However, this goal cannot be achieved if the economic efforts of free peoples are overshadowed by fear of aggression. By strengthening the common defence, this act will go a long way towards allaying this fear. The security provided by this law will help promote the economic well-being of free nations and restore their confidence in a peaceful and prosperous future. Recent developments in the field of armaments have strengthened the adherence of free nations to the principle of common defence, which underlies this act. By emphasizing the common determination of free nations to protect themselves from the threat or fear of aggression, the Mutual Assistance in Defence Act will do so. to strengthen peace in the world. Military officials began calling for the introduction of a new defense law in 1947, arguing that the depletion of World War II`s surplus weapons stockpiles, piecemeal planning of new weapons, and limitations on presidential authority threatened current and future efforts to arm allied countries.
New laws became a necessity in mid-1948 with the negotiations of the North Atlantic Treaty and the need to provide military assistance to strengthen the liaison defense, keeping in mind the global resistance to the communist expansion of the signatories. Truman sent his first bill to Congress on July 25, 1949, the day he ratified the North Atlantic Treaty, but opposition from Congress forced the submission of a new bill that determined the recipients and amount of aid. Government planners believed that the immediate impact of MDAA would be to boost the morale of friendly nations and prove the reliability and determination of the United States to counter global communist threats. The MDAA also institutionalized the concept of specific military assistance programs, an outcome secured by the passage of similar laws in 1950 and an increase in annual military aid spending to $5.222 billion after the outbreak of the Korean War – the first-ever large-scale test of the validity and practicality of the concept. although with the exception of logistical support. which the France was allowed to do during the Indochina War. Pakistan`s condemnation of the North Koreans as aggressors and responsiveness to US politics and overtures were enough to force the Americans to consider an alliance with Pakistan as an alternative. As a result, Pakistan and the United States grew closer and concluded a defense mutual assistance agreement on May 19, 1954. The following is a list of collective defense agreements of the United States and its parties: Around the same time, the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951, also known or referred to as the Battle Act (65 Stat.
644; 22 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.) was also passed; He banned U.S. aid to countries doing business with the Soviet Union and was named after his godfather, Representative Laurie C. Battle of Alabama. [6] A strong motivation for this “control” law also came from export control concerns, after they were exacerbated by the 1949 Export Control Law on Soviet advances; Export controls were used both for domestic policy and later as an instrument of foreign policy. This is illustrated by restrictions on the export of certain strategic or military goods to the Soviet bloc or other countries that, if allowed, would be detrimental to the U.S. foreign policy agenda. [7] The latter motive became so strong that it introduced laws directing the president to win the cooperation of other nations in establishing controls on trade with the Soviet bloc equivalent to those of the United States. The benefits of various economic and military aid programs should be denied to non-cooperating nations. [8] The law covered a wide range of materials needed to make weapons, focusing in particular on anything that could support the research and construction of nuclear weapons. [9] Given the divergent interests of the two, tensions in US-Pakistan relations were inevitable. The United States was interested in expanding its policy of containment, and the aid was aimed at defending non-communist countries against the aggression of communism.
For Pakistan, however, it was primarily a question of increasing its defence and its military and economic capabilities vis-à-vis India. Pakistani leaders are mainly concerned about the security of Pakistan, which is repeatedly threatened by India. Second, they believed that the US could help resolve the Kashmir conflict by pressuring India to hold a referendum in the region. It was therefore essentially Indian aggression that brought Pakistan into the fold of the pacts that we sponsored. Pakistan stressed that the threat of Indian aggression was an evil greater than communism and that aggression should be resisted from any quarter. In fact, Pakistan was not so threatened by Soviet aggression. We were still reluctant to let go of India and did not want to upset it. Therefore, India has received assurances that Pakistan will not use its weapons against it.
Pakistan`s decision to join Western alliances drew the ire of the Soviet Union, which threatened to attack Pakistan after the U2 incident. On the other hand, he urged India to turn to the Soviet Union for help, which it gladly gave to India against Pakistan. The Mutual Assistance in Defence Act created the Mutual Assistance Programme, which became an integral part of the Federal Government`s policy to curb Soviet expansion. This program differed from the Lend-Lease program of the Second World War era in that it never required repayment of land receiving military support. Between 1950 and 1967, the program provided $33.4 billion worth of weapons and services and $3.3 billion in surplus weapons. I have just SIGNED the Defence Mutual Assistance Act of 1949. It is a remarkable contribution to the collective security of the free nations of the world.
