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Renewed US Military Assistance Funding for Lithuania

November 24, 2003

President Bush signed a presidential waiver on Friday 21 November that will release approximately $7.2 million in US military assistance funding for Lithuania. President Bush based his determination on the participation of Lithuanian forces in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Disbursement of the funds had been blocked under the American Servicemen's Protection Act (ASPA), which involves the International Criminal Court and the United States' concern that countries agree not to surrender American personnel to this Court, to which the United States does not belong. Because Lithuania had not signed an "Article 98" agreement with the United States, the sanctions of the ASPA blocked the use of these funds, until those sanctions were waived by President Bush on Nov. 21.

The military assistance money will be used to procure military equipment and supplies in support of Lithuanian forces. Lithuanian and US officials have been coordinating the purchase of state-of-the-art night vision devices, body armor and other individual and unit equipment. Additionally some of the US security assistance money will be used to help fund the ongoing transformation of the Lithuanian military. Approximately 1.2 million of the assistance will fund over 100 military courses in the US for nearly 50 members of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 2004. The US has provided nearly 50 million U.S. dollars in military security assistance to Lithuania since 1993 when the first US Military to Military Assistance team was established in Lithuania.