The United States is a party to numerous security agreements with
other nations. The topics covered, along with the significance of
the obligations imposed upon agreement parties, may vary. Some
international security agreements entered by the United States,
such as those obliging parties to come to the defense of another in
the event of an attack, involve substantial commitments and have
traditionally been entered as treaties, ratified with the advice
and consent of the Senate. Other agreements dealing with more
technical matters, such as military basing rights or the
application of a host country's laws to U.S. forces stationed
within, are entered more routinely and usually take a form other
than treaty (i.e., as an executive agreement or a nonlegal
political commitment). Occasionally, the substance and form of a
proposed security agreement may become a source of dispute between
Congress and the executive branch. In late 2007, the Bush
Administration announced its intention to negotiate a long-term
security agreement with Iraq that would have committed the United
States to provide security assurances to Iraq and maintain a
long-term military presence in that country. This announcement
became a source of congressional interest, in part because of
statements by Administration officials that such an agreement would
not be submitted to the legislative branch for approval.
Congressional concern dissipated when U.S.-Iraq negotiations
culminated in an agreement that did not contain a long-term
security commitment by the United States, but instead called for
the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011. On
May 2, 2012, President Barack Obama and President Hamid Karzai
signed the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement Between the
United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the parties pledge to work
cooperatively in a number of fields, including to promote shared
democratic values, advance long-term security, reinforce regional
security, advance social and economic development, and strengthen
Afghan institutions and governance. Additionally, the Agreement
provides that the United States and Afghanistan shall initiate
negotiations on a Bilateral Security Agreement (with the goal of
concluding such an agreement within a year), which is intended to
replace the existing agreement relating to the status of military
and civilian personnel currently in Afghanistan. It is likely that
future disputes will arise between the political branches regarding
the entering or implementation of international security
agreements. Regardless of the form a security arrangement may take,
Congress has several tools to exercise oversight regarding the
negotiation, form, conclusion, and implementation of the agreement
by the United States. This report begins by providing a general
background on the types of international agreements that are
binding upon the United States, as well as considerations affecting
whether they take the form of a treaty or an executive agreement.
Next, the report discusses historical precedents as to the role
that security agreements have taken, with specific attention paid
to past agreements entered with Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, South
Korea, the Philippines, and Iraq. The report discusses the
oversight role that Congress exercises with respect to entering and
implementing international agreements involving the United States.
General
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