Friday 29th of March 2024

merchants of death .....

‘The United States last year provided nearly half of the weapons sold to militaries in the developing world, as major arms sales to the most unstable regions - many already engaged in conflict - grew to the highest level in eight years, new US government figures show.

According to the annual assessment, the United States supplied $8.1 billion worth of weapons to developing countries in 2005 - 45.8 percent of the total and far more than second-ranked Russia with 15 percent and Britain with a little more than 13 percent.

Arms control specialists said the figures underscore how the largely unchecked arms trade to the developing world has become a major staple of the American weapons industry, even though introducing many of the weapons risks fueling conflicts rather than aiding long-term US interests.

The report was compiled by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.

"We are at a point in history where many of these sales are not essential for the self-defense of these countries and the arms being sold continue to fuel conflicts and tensions in unstable areas," said Daryl G. Kimball , executive director of the non-partisan Arms Control Association in Washington. "It doesn't make much sense over the long term."

The United States, for instance, also signed an estimated $6.2 billion worth of new deals last year to sell attack helicopters, missiles, and other armaments to developing nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Developing nations are designated as all those except in North America, Western Europe, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand.’

US Is Top Purveyor On Weapons Sales List

A new market for the USA?

From the BBC

Turkey ends French military ties

The French move led to street protests in Turkey
The commander of the Turkish army says his country has suspended all military ties with France.
General Ilker Basbug said this was in protest against a bill passed by the French National Assembly to make it a crime to deny the Armenian "genocide".

Armenia says Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people systematically in 1915 - a claim strongly denied by Turkey.

Both France and Turkey are members of the Nato military alliance, and Turkey is a market for French-made weapons.

The dispute comes in the midst of worsening relations between Turkey and the European Union - of which France is also a key member.

Some European leaders say Turkey is not making sufficient progress in membership talks to join the Union.

The new French bill, tabled by the opposition but opposed by the French government, needs approval from the Senate and president before it becomes law.

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Gus: Fantastic opportunity for the US to sell a few more cluster bombs or kid seeking missiles... to improve the "balance" sheet...