The United States is the largest arms merchant in the world, selling to great powers and small countries alike. According to this report in The New York Times, business is good:
From tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and even warships, the Department of Defense has agreed so far this fiscal year to sell or transfer more than $32 billion in weapons and other military equipment to foreign governments, compared with $12 billion in 2005. The trend, which started in 2006, is most pronounced in the Middle East, but it reaches into northern Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and even Canada, through dozens of deals that senior Bush administration officials say they are confident will both tighten military alliances and combat terrorism.
If you have an interest in U.S. arms sales I recommend the website of the Arms Control Association as a resource for news and analysis. According to their About page:
The Arms Control Association (ACA), founded in 1971, is a national nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies. Through its public education and media programs and its magazine, Arms Control Today (ACT), ACA provides policy-makers, the press and the interested public with authoritative information, analysis and commentary on arms control proposals, negotiations and agreements, and related national security issues. In addition to the regular press briefings ACA holds on major arms control developments, the Association's staff provides commentary and analysis on a broad spectrum of issues for journalists and scholars both in the United States and abroad.
Perhaps a pragmatist would see U.S. arms sales as a great return on the investment of taxpayer dollars, after all, in times of budget deficit why not make the most of our weapons industry? A realist would no doubt note that if the U.S. did not sell weapons to our clients they would simply buy them elsewhere. And perhaps a cynic would applaud the evenhandedness of the U.S. in selling the weapons that stoke regional conflicts and then providing the diplomats to help negotiate the peace. We are a full service superpower.
