The Roadmap, among other things,  obligates the PA and Israel to undertake specific actions to improve  security as part of the ongoing Middle East peace process. As a result, the  United States decided to re-engage with the PA directly and increased the  amount of U.S. assistance aimed at improving the economic and security  climate in the West Bank and increasing the capacity of the PA.
As described by USSC and State officials, the USSC’s current mission is to  (1)  facilitate PA-Israeli cooperation and allay Israeli fears about the  nature and capabilities of the PASF;  (2)  lead and coordinate international assistance for the PASF provided by  the United States and other international donors to eliminate  duplication of effort; and  (3)  help the PA rightsize, reform, and professionalize its security sector  by advising the PA  and by training and equipping the PASF to meet  the Palestinians’ obligations outlined in the Roadmap. State also has requested a total of $150 million in additional INCLE  funding for security assistance to the PA for fiscal year 2011, including $56  million for training activities, $33 million for equipping, $53 million for  infrastructure activities, and $3 million for strategic capacity building  activities. USSC Supports Renovation and Construction of PASF Installations

Since 2007, State has allocated approximately $99 million to renovate or  construct PASF installations. 4). Jenin NSF Operations Camp. State  has allocated about $9 million to construct this facility. USSC and State officials attributed the  lack of clear and measurable outcome-based performance indicators and  their associated targets for their programs to three factors—(1) changing  force requirements, (2) the early stages of PA planning and its limited  capacity to rebuild and sustain its security forces, and (3) lack of detailed  guidance from State about USSC program objectives, time frames, and  reporting requirements. Despite these factors, deriving indicators to measure and manage  performance against an agency’s results-oriented goals has been identified  by GAO as good management practice because it would help provide  objective and useful performance information for decision makers when  faced with limited resources and competing priorities. State and USSC officials noted that  USSC was developing a campaign plan for release in mid-2010 to help the  Palestinians implement their own revised security strategy—which was  still not released as of March 2010–and expected the plan to incorporate  performance indicators to the extent possible. U.S. Security Assistance Programs Face Logistical Constraints and Outpace Development of the Rule of Law

Logistical constraints on personnel movement and access, equipment  delivery, and acquisition of land for infrastructure projects challenge the  implementation of U.S. security assistance programs. In addition, State,  USSC, and international officials and documents note that programs to  develop the capacity of the civil police and the justice sector are not  proceeding at the same pace as U.S. security sector reform programs. Although U.S.  and international officials said that U.S. security assistance has helped the  PA improve security conditions in some areas of the West Bank and is  progressing faster than PA civil police and justice sector reforms, State  and USSC have not established clear and measurable outcome-based  performance indicators to assess and report on the progress of their  security assistance. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To describe the nature and extent of U.S. security assistance to the  Palestinian Authority since 2007, we reviewed relevant documents and  interviewed officials from the Departments of State (State) and Defense  (DOD), the Office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC), and the  U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., in  the West Bank, at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, and the U.S. Embassies  in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan. To assess State’s efforts to measure the effectiveness of its security  assistance programs, we examined whether its approach identified and  applied measurable performance indicators necessary to gauge results—as  called for in a number of GAO products listed at the end of this report.
Why GAO Did This Study

The 2003 Roadmap for Peace process sponsored by the United States and other nations obligates the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Government of Israel to undertake security efforts as a necessary precursor for achieving the long-standing objective of establishing a Palestinian state as part of the two-state solution for peace in the Middle East. In 2005 the Department of State (State) created the office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) to help the parties meet these obligations. GAO was asked to (1) describe the nature and extent of U.S. security assistance to the PA since 2007; (2) assess State's efforts to measure the effectiveness of its security assistance; and (3) describe factors that may affect the implementation of U.S. security assistance programs. GAO analyzed documents; interviewed officials and regional experts; and conducted fieldwork in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan.

What GAO Found

State has allocated about $392million to train and equip the PA security forces, oversee construction of related infrastructure projects, and develop the capacity of the PA during fiscal years 2007 through 2010. Of this total, State has allocated: (1) more than $160 million to help fund and support training, primarily for the PA's National Security Force (NSF); (2) approximately $89 million to provide nonlethal equipment; (3) about $99 million to renovate or construct several PA installations, including two of the operations camps it plans to provide; and (4) about $22 million to build the capacity of the Interior Ministry and its Strategic Planning Directorate. State also requested $150 million for its programs for fiscal year 2011. Although U.S. and international officials said that U.S. security assistance programs for the PA have helped to improve security conditions in some West Bank areas, State and USSC have not established clear and measurable outcome-based performance indicators to assess progress. Thus, it is difficult to determine how the programs support the achievement of security-related Roadmap obligations. U.S. officials attributed the lack of agreement on such performance indicators to a number of factors, including the relatively early stage of PA plans and capacity for reforming, rebuilding, and sustaining its security forces. Developing outcome-based indicators to measure and manage performance against program goals has been identified by GAO as a good management practice. Such indicators would help USSC provide objective and useful performance information for decision makers. State and USSC officials noted that they plan to incorporate performance indicators in a USSC campaign plan to be released in mid-2010. The implementation of the U.S. security assistance programs faces logistical constraints largely outside of U.S. control, and these implementation efforts outpace international efforts to develop the limited capacity of the PA police and justice sector. Logistical constraints include restrictions on the movement of USSC personnel in the West Bank, lack of a process to ensure approval and timely delivery of equipment, and difficulties in acquiring suitable land for infrastructure projects. State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other international donors have been assisting the PA civil police and justice-sector reforms, although these efforts are not proceeding at the same pace as the security assistance programs.