Even in depressed times the US is the leading seller of arms, despite a hint of refrain in the headline of the NYT here which also says that "Russia was a distant second" in the arms sales in 2009. This coupled with the fact that the US has plans to sell more arms to Saudi Arabia, which is not a regime that really respects and promotes human rights and democracy. The US also wonders how arms end up in the hands of insurgents and extremists, but never wonders as to how these arms are in the market place in the first place. Despite the exaggerated threat of WMDs, reports have shown that deaths caused by small arms are more in number as emphasized in the Report of UN Secretary General and compiled by the International Action Network on Small Arms.
The shortsightedness of congressional leaders who are swayed by the number of jobs the arms industry brings to their constituencies, misses the point that these very weapons could in the future cause more harm around the world, and sometimes at home in the US.
One more in the list of excesses by the US.
This blog intends to argue that we can view the US as an "excess"(excess: undue or immoderate indulgence) nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment