U.S. Selling the Most Weapons to Developing Nations

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBE928R0DE.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is the largest supplier of weapons to developing nations, delivering more than $9.6 billion in arms to Near East and Asian countries last year.

The U.S. sales to the developing countries helped boost worldwide weapons sales to the highest level since 2000, a congressional study says.

The total worldwide value of all agreements to sell arms last year was close to $37 billion, and nearly 59 percent of the agreements were to sell weapons to developing nations, according to the Congressional Research Service report.

The weapons being sold range from ammunition to tanks, combat aircraft, missiles and submarines.

[stepnw1f]

1. Bill Hicks Said It Best

Basically paraphrasing, but here it goes.

Like an old western: America points its gun at the head of another country. Throws a gun at the feet of that other country, then demands that country "pick up the gun". Hesitantly the other country finally goes for the gun and... BANG!

America turns to the spectators and anounces: "You all saw it for yourselves. It was in self-defense. He went for the gun".

[randr]

2. Onward Christian Soldiers!

We need to make a serious moral accounting of how we profit from suffering. Especially as the rebuild of the devastation from Katrina moves forward.
A new ethic regarding profiting from the loses of other humans is needed now more than at any time I can remember.
The sale of weapons to struggling countries should be considered a crime against humanity as should the profiting from war or recovery from natural disasters.
I am sick and tired of the "moral majority" cramming their ten commandments down our collective throats while they, and we all as a nation, continue to deny the most horrific and obvious sins we commit each day in the name of the bottom dollar.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

3. Isn't that be like exporting WMDs?

[TheDebbieDee]

11. BINGO!

[kodi]

4. thank god we can export at least one technology! eh?

but even there much of the money for foreign nations to buy US-made weaponry comes from US government loans to these countries, so US taxpayers subsidize the US armament industry even there.

[Deja Q]

5. Didn't we learn with the weapons we sold to Iran and Iraq?

Nope.

Saddam gassed his own people and what we taught Iran might be used against us...

Now we're selling to India, who is also working with China and Russia in tri-nation maneuvers.

This ain't good.

[NNN0LHI]

15. The USA also provided arms to Osama bin Laden n/t

[Lori Price CLG]

6. US weapons sales top $49 billion

US weapons sales top $49 billion

The United States is the largest supplier of weapons to developing nations, a US congressional study says.

It delivered more than $US9.6 billion ($A12.8 billion) in arms to countries including those in the Near East and Asia in 2004, and boosted worldwide sales to those countries to the highest amount since 2000.

The total worldwide value of all agreements to sell arms last year was close to $US37 billion ($A49.35 billion), and nearly 59 per cent of the agreements were with developing nations, according to the Congressional Research Service report.

<snip>

Lori Price

[AuntiBush]

7. And the Investors Keep Getting Richer, and Richer

While the rest of us get screwed.

[leesa]

8. Kaaaching! Major reason for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

[MisterP]

9. why do you think we're allying with Sudan?

the NRA's vision of "safety and liberation" is the DJ)(#$ing Horn of Africa

[Donailin]

10. It's such a clever scheme

we wonder why there is war when we arm the entire friggin planet. So does Germany and France and Britian, but as always we are NUMBER ONE!

[Raster]

12. We are the number one purveyor of weaponry in the world.

We spend more on weaponry for our own country than all the others put together. The world's largest Christian nation is predicated on death and destruction. Go fucking figure.

[ngGale]

13. Hell yeah, more blowback for the future...

eternal war and profiteering is all I see. :scared:

[defiant1]

14. What's that odor in the air???

Oh yeah, it's hypocrisy!!!

:puke: