US Leads the World in Arms Sales, Profiting Off Death and Destruction

[G_j]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/activists-acquitted-of-trying-to-block-largest-weapons-sales-fare-in-the-world

On Waging Nonviolence, Javier Gárate wrote of his acquittal -- and those of his fellow activists -- for attempting to symbolically blockade the London Arms Fair in September 2015:

After a week-long trial that ended on April 15, a judge from the Stratford Magistrate Court in London found me and seven co-defendants not guilty for our actions last September to shut down the Defence Security and Equipment International arms fair, or DSEI, on the basis that we were preventing a greater crime. This is a huge victory in the long struggle to shut down … the largest arms fair in the world, which takes place in east London every other year.

The last fair was in September 2015, and it saw more than 1,500 exhibitors from around the world displaying the latest technology of the war industry. DSEI is an invitation-only event, where invites go to governments, industry representatives and specialized press. Delegations from repressive regimes and countries violating human rights — such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel — walk through its corridors every other year browsing the latest weaponry [and most significantly signing contracts for billions of dollars].

The focus of Gárate and his fellow opponents of the global weaponry industry was the 2015 Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition held in London. RT took a look at some of the biggest corporate beneficiaries of worldwide weapons sales and found these two companies among those leading the pack: ...more...

[Fresh_Start]

1. I hate that we are the biggest exporters of death

and if you look at our foreign aid...a not inconsiderable portion of that is also tools of death

but we love tools of death...we even have an entire amendment and 80% of congress rubber stamping killing people

[villager]

3. "E pluribus kill 'em." nt

[larkrake]

2. so true

[Albertoo]

4. The US is far behind in weapons exports per capita

1. Israel, $97.71 per capita
2. Russia, $57.72 per capita
3. Sweden, $53.05 per capita
4. Belarus, $35.71 per capita
5. Switzerland, $25.63 per capita

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140522/peace-loving-sweden-and-switzerland-are-among-the-top-arms-exporters-per-capita

[G_j]

12. that's reassuring!

not...the numbers of weapons sold still tops em all..

[Igel]

13. In $, that's true for most years.

There have been years in which Russia's trumped the US for sales in $.

But keep in mind that some countries produce cheaper weapons. You can get two or three of a kind of weapon from them for what one costs from the US.

And this doesn't include black and gray market sales, where weapons that are only for deployment inside the country of origin wind up elsewhere in reasonable numbers, but nobody reports that army bases are missing theirs. Those are the weapons that get sold to people that the countries don't want to know are customers.

Note that for the most part, those are the places where there are wars that we really don't like. Not always. But if Yemen didn't have black market weapons, if ISIL and an-Nusra didn't have black market weapons, much of the fighting would be much reduced. (Yes, ISIL and an-Nusra have some US weapons, stolen or captured, but let's not do the whole/part fallacy thing today, where 5% is taken to mean 100% so having some US weapons means that they only have US weapons.)

So per capita, total value in $, and # of weapons don't usually line up to make a nice sound bit. It also means having a sense of nuance and able to handle a set of facts instead of a single fact.

[G_j]

14. Well stated, although 'nuance' seems a bit too nice a sounding word

in the nightmare of a world awash in weapons, a problem that seems beyond solving. But, adding fuel to the fire has always proved to make things worse. The US, as a world leader needs a "Department of Peace". Seriously, even George Washington visualized something like it. At any rate, every last effort must be made to shift the paradigm, however long it takes. Adding more weapons to the brew has never worked, It just adds to a downward spiral of violence and heartache.

[Skwmom]

5. That is why the world loves us!

[Duppers]

6. Largest arms sale in history: Obama authorized $60B to the f'n Saudis.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/13/us-saudi-arabia-arms-deal

[stupidicus]

7. and for more of the same and worse, vote Hillary

it had to be said...

[OnyxCollie]

8. We're #1!

[Enthusiast]

9. Imagine that.

[jalan48]

10. "There's plenty of money to be made by supplying the Army with tools of the trade"-C.J. McDonald.

[bjo59]

11. Yes, it most certainly does. And I can't bear to have to pay taxes

that help support the ghastly death and destruction. That's why I'm going to vote the way I'm going to vote in the upcoming election.

[burrowowl]

15. And what else is new

this has been so for a long time. I think France or Britain are second.