US 'biggest global arms dealer' // canavarlar

amerika usa silah

The US has reaffirmed its domination of global weapons trading, cornering
nearly 42 per cent of the arms market, according to a US congressional
report.

The US concluded $16.9bn worth of arms deals last year, a $3.4bn
increase over 2005, the Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing
Nations report said.

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the traditional rivalry between
India and Pakistan, seemed to be fuelling regional arms races, the report,
officially published on Monday, said.

Pakistan, a key US ally, was the developing nation which purchased the
most arms with $5.1bn worth of deals.

Along with a variety of other weapons, the US will supply Pakistan with 36
upgraded versions of the F-16 fighter aircraft for $1.4 bn, a variety of
missiles and bombs for them for over $640m, and $52m worth of upgrades
for self-propelled howitzers.

In Saudi Arabia, it will be modernising the kingdom's AH-64A Apache
helicopters, a deal worth $340m, and providing new military
communications equipment, the report said.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is buying Seasparrow ship-to-air
missiles from Washington for $106m.

Iran's nuclear ambitions appear to have led to Washington's regional allies
stocking up on weapons in recent years.

Economic interests

Richard Grimmett, the senior national defence expert at the Congressional
Report Service and main author of the study, noted a major shift in political
and economic interests driving post-Cold War era international weapons
sales.

During the Cold War, he argued, the underlying rationale for US arms sales
was to ensure adequate arms supplies to friendly states.

"Today that motivation may be based as much on economic considerations
as those of foreign or national security policy," Grimmett said.

But some of the old international tensions do seem to remain, Russia
boosted its worldwide arms sales by $1.2bn, ending 2006 in second place
with 21.6 per cent of the market.

It signed a deal worth more than $1bn to supply Venezuela, a major rival
to the US in Latin America, with two dozen fighter jets, as well as transport
and attack helicopters.

Moscow has also offered to help build a factory to produce the infamous
Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle favoured by armed groups around the
world.

"His [Chavez's] decision to seek advanced military equipment from Russia
is a matter of US concern," Grimmett said.

"Chavez appears embarked on an effort to make Venezuela an important
military force in Latin America."

Market shrinks

But despite the fears of a new global arms race, the size of the market
actually shrunk from $46.3bn in 2005 to $40.3bn last year.

Western European nations were among those hit hardest by the slump.

The four major regional suppliers - France, Britain, Germany and Italy - saw
the collective value of their arms agreements with developing nations drop
by half.

"The demand for US weapons in the global arms marketplace, from a large
established client base, has created a more difficult environment for
individual West European suppliers to secure large new contracts with
developing nations on a sustained basis," Grimmett said.

However, the report does not take into account for the huge number of
illegal weapons transfers, worth an estimated $10bn.

The report was released just days after 139 countries at the UN voted to
develop a global Arms Trade Treaty.

The US was the only country to vote against the treaty that would seek to
prevent international arms transfers that fuel conflict, poverty and serious
human-rights violations.

http://english.aljazeera.net/