I read this disturbing article this morning in the Metro newspaper:
Arms spending hits all-time high
The key points:
A quick google turned up this Observer article from last year:
What does this increase in world spending say about the direction the world is heading in?
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What are your views on UK arms sales, should we be concerned? who should be responsible for policing what can be bought and sold in the global arms market?
Arms spending hits all-time high
The key points:
So after reading this I though well who the hell is still selling all these arms to developing countries?Global spending on arms has hit a record high, swelling to 17 times the amount earmarked for alleviating world hunger.
This year, £561billion will be used to buy weapons – more than the £547billion spent at the peak of the Cold War.
The figure dwarfs the £32billion set aside for international aid and is more than double the total debt of developing countries.
The leading 100 arms companies have seen sales increase by almost 60 per cent from £83billion in 2000 to £142billion in 2004. Spending on arms in some of the world's poorest countries has soared while their citizens starve.
A quick google turned up this Observer article from last year:
Obviously there are much bigger player in the arms world selling a lot more than the UK but the Labour government (especially Gordon Brown) have been telling us they want to ease third world debt over the next few years and help developing nations. But behind the scenes in the last four years they have sold increasing numbers of arms to these nations.British arms sales to Africa have risen to record levels over the last four years and have reached the £1 billion mark, The Observer can reveal.
Analysis of official figures shows annual weapons sales almost quadrupled between 1999 and 2004.
Campaigners and MPs called the increase 'obscene' and 'unacceptable' at a time when the government is putting so much political capital into relieving poverty in Africa.
Many exports approved by the Department of Trade and Industry involve selling arms to some of the most deprived states and to countries with poor human rights records.
Among the most controversial exports since 2000 discovered by The Observer are:
· More than £30 million of military equipment sold to Angola, including armoured vehicles and body armour.
· Export licences granted by the DTI last year to sell £3.6m of military equipment to Malawi, one of the least developed nations in the world.
· Licences for military exports granted to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Algeria, Sudan, Zambia, Uganda, Namibia and Somalia.
· Arms sales to South Africa that trebled last year to £114m, including components for combat aircraft, missiles and radar.
· UK arms sales to Nigeria up tenfold since 2000 to £53m, including armoured vehicles and large calibre artillery.
What does this increase in world spending say about the direction the world is heading in?
+
What are your views on UK arms sales, should we be concerned? who should be responsible for policing what can be bought and sold in the global arms market?
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