Sections

Commentary

Podcast

America’s track record in building foreign militaries

Lebanese Army soldiers ride on their military vehicles in Ras Baalbek

Mara Karlin, nonresident senior fellow in the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence and Foreign Policy program at Brookings, discusses her work at the Department of Defense and her new book, “Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States.” Karlin explains how the United States trains and equips partner militaries abroad, and what failure and success look like through the examples of Vietnam, Greece, and Lebanon.

Also in this episode, Scott Anderson, a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Governance Studies program, joins us for a new edition of our Coffee Break segment.

Related content:

Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States

Why Military Assistance Programs Disappoint

After 7 years of war, Assad has won in Syria. What’s next for Washington?

Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo with assistance from Mark Hoelscher, and to producers Brennan Hoban and Chris McKenna. Additional support comes from Jessica Pavone, Eric Abalahin, Rebecca Viser, our intern Steven Lee, Camilo Ramirez, and David Nassar.

Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Authors