Our Allies Outside NATO

For John, BLUF:  "Friends" and "Allies" are not different words for the same relationship.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The below piece of legalese surfaced [elsewhere] when a question was asked as to if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was a US ally:

§ 120.32 Major non-NATO ally.
Major non-NATO ally, as defined in section 644(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2403(q)), means a country that is designated in accordance with section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321(k)) as a major non-NATO ally for purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. and 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).  The following countries are designated as major non-NATO allies:  Afghanistan (see§ 126.1(g) of this subchapter), Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Republic of Korea.  Taiwan shall be treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally.
[77 FR 76865, Dec. 31, 2012]

As can be seen, there answer is no.  Remember, this is about the Foreign Assistance Act.  There are anomalies, such as Argentina, the only Latin American nation on the list.  And, both Egypt and Israel are on the list.  Jordan and Kuwait, but not Saudi Arabia.  Pakistan is there, but not India.  (That is an issue that we should be working.)  And, of course, Taiwan is a special case.

More than you wanted to know.

Regards  —  Cliff