US #1 In World Weapons Sales: War Means Major Moolah For Arms Companies

And by the way, the report came from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Check the pie chart after the article’s fifth paragraph for the breakdown of international sales. Bryan Bender also quotes Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association in Washington, who says “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. It doesn’t make much sense over the long term.” No, it certainly doesn’t make sense. But is sense what it’s about? No. It’s money. That’s what it’s all about. It’s about perpetuating chaos. It’s about draining our national budget of $500 million plus a year for defense, not to mention another $350 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq. Or to “’enhance collective defense arrangements,” gangs of us clubbing each other. But that’s an old story, and not just relegated to the US. As Bender points out “For decades during the height of the Cold War, providing conventional weapons to friendly states was an instrument of foreign policy utilized by the United States and its allies.” Today, our allies include Pakistan, to whom we’ve recently decided to send F-16 fighter jets. These are the folks that developed their own atomic bomb then gave the plans to rogue nations Libya and North Korea. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_1456.shtml

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