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US Expands Sales of Arms: Report
WASHINGTON - The United States expanded its
role as the worlds leading weapons supplier, increasing its share to
more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, The New York Times
reported.
Citing
a new congressional study, the newspaper said the United States signed
weapons agreements valued at 37.8 billion dollars last year, or 68.4
percent of all business in the global arms bazaar.
File photo shows Iraqi soldiers holding new rifles distributed by US forces. The United States expanded its role as the worlds leading weapons supplier, increasing its share to more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, The New York Times reported. The figure marked a significant increase from US arms sales of 25.4 billion dollars the year before, the paper noted.
Italy was a distant second, with 3.7 billion dollars in worldwide weapons sales in 2008, while Russia was third with 3.5 billion dollars in arms sales last year -- down considerably from the 10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007, the report pointed out.
The growth in weapons sales by the United States last year was particularly noticeable against worldwide trends, The Times said.
The value of global arms sales in 2008 was 55.2 billion dollars, a drop of 7.6 percent from 2007 and the lowest total for international weapons agreements since 2005, according to the report.
The increase in American weapons sales around the world "was attributable not only to major new orders from clients in the Near East and in Asia, but also to the continuation of significant equipment and support services contracts with a broad-based number of US clients globally," the paper quotes the study produced by the Congressional Research Service.
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15 Comments so far
Show AllExporter of fear, war, violence, weaponry, arbitrary incarceration, concentration camps, torture, mercenaries, and nuclear technology. Please continue the list, if I left out anything.
How about hunger, disease, oppression, over population, pollution, over consumption of natural resources, and etc., etc.
It is often stated that Iran brings instability to the Middle East.
It can also be said that the United States brings instability to an area as well, that area being the Earth.
So true.
"It's just business" - the Godfather
How Immoral - How unconscionable - How horrible we are.
55.2 billion dollars in business and so many worry because someone buys a pistol for $400.00.
Unless we as individuals focus on the real problems that confront us I feel humans will prove to be a failed experiment.
Or perhaps Darwin was wrong and only "survival of the well armed" will prevail rather than the "survival of the fittest."
M-M-M-m-m-m-m . . . . That's an interesting thought.
Very interesting comment. I suppose that is the Religious Right's way of upstaging and disproving Darwin.
So if arms are the number 1 industrial export of the US. What is its global marketing scheme, objective and goal?... That's right.
I wonder if more Americans knew of the US traffic in world arms, especially to the world's trouble spots, just how they would feel about the morality of America's intent. Most Americans seem so caught up in the "official" story of the US as the "policeman" of the world and don't have any idea just how much the US has contributed to the instability of the world and to the human suffering that its weapons have caused.
It has been this way for a long time and will probably continue to be this way for the foreseeable future. Tragic.
Domestic uses.
The bizarre militarization of this pandemic is starting to expose a number of things besides the vaccines - such as the pharmaceutical industry's sordid history. That industry was responsible for destabilizing Germany and putting in Hitler and then they were the mainstay of apartheid, destabilizing South Africa as well. That is what is occurring here now. It needs immediate and massive exposure. We would be fools not to take seriously the right wing political, military and corporate connections to this pandemic .
http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/PHARMACEUTICAL_BUSINESS/history_of_the_pharmaceutical_industry.htm
http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/PHARMACEUTICAL_BUSINESS/pharmaceutical_industry.htm
Merck caused AIDS here with its vaccines which its chief of vaccines admitted, saying the vaccines are loaded with multiple cancers and viruses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgBBwOnmy3w
Vaccines are being used as bioweapons to kill blacks by the millions in Africa, while the industry makes billions on them.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james29.htm
Plans for here are on a schedule. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2D4-noTiCg
Welcome to the economic stimulus package of the new president which is the same as the economic stimulus package of the former president. It is just one more reason that Obama is nothing more than a beige Bush.
Poet
The U.S. can't even pretend to be about peace with its largest export being weapons. Our hypocrisy level is so staggering, it's a wonder the Earth hasn't altered its orbit from the shear weight of the BS. "Land of the free," stolen from the Indians of course. There's no end to how far it goes.
With this high degree of bologna slinging expertise one might think that we have reached the absolute pinnacle of hypocrisy, never to be outdone....It is here that one must get out the high powered binoculars to see the all time indefatigable leaders on this race track to call the kettle black, miles ahead of everyone and never looking back...The Republican party.
In Spanish, two words fit them like a glove , "sin verguenza". That's right, without shame, for they have none.
This progressive Independent Vet hasn't even come close to getting over the last 8 years, let alone the previous 233.
Weapons sale moratorium, please! Weapons are about all we make anymore. A second grader can easily see the insanity of what we do at the top of our lungs.
Guess who those arms will eventually kill? Do they care?
The Right to Share Arms.
"The American government has always maintained the right of its citizens to ship arms to belligerents. President Washington took this position when France protested against the sale of arms to England in 1793, the answer being that 'the exporting from the United States of warlike instruments and military stores is not to be interfered with.'" - Theodore Roosevelt "Fear God..."p.160
Gun runners from the get-go!
And they wonder why some dare call America "The Great Satan."