Gunmaker to the world

September 20, 2008

NO ONE is minding the missile mart, and the world is on a spending spree. In June, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said global military expenditures rose 45 percent between 1998 and 2007, to $1.3 trillion. American firms, including Massachusetts-based Raytheon, occupied five of the top six spots on the list of sellers. This week, The New York Times reported that the Defense Department made $32 billion in foreign weapons and military equipment deals this year, compared to $12 billion in 2005. The United States now provides 52 percent of the world's arms, more than twice the share of second-place Russia.

The Pentagon says such sales create more security at a time of terrorism and tricky relations. But the lines at the American arms checkout counter are unprecedented. Saudi Arabia has purchased $8.8 billion in weapons since 2006. The United Arab Emirates is eyeing $16 billion. This will likely make Israel buy more arms. Not to mention the nearly $16 billion for weapons to fragile Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006.

Many emerging nations now make the United States a top source of arms, including Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, India, Pakistan, Romania, Poland, and even tiny Estonia and Latvia. This all but guarantees a US hand in any conflict.

Arms trade expert William Hartung of the New America Foundation says US arms were used in 18 of the 25 major wars in 2006 and 2007, with weapons sold to at least a dozen regimes in developing countries that are either undemocratic or commit serious human rights abuses. These include Thailand, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Oman.

Hartung says some countries join the arms race for no apparent reason. "Unless you think Romania is going to start bombing terrorist training camps, F-16s don't make much sense," he said by telephone. "Many weapons have no justification. It's a one-size-fits-all justification."

Spiraling arms sales are a bipartisan failure of pork barrel politics. And the defense industry is jockeying for influence in the new administration, whether it be President Obama or McCain. In the 2004 elections, defense contractors gave 62 percent of their campaign contributions to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. They are now giving 52 percent to the Democrats. Six defense firms, including Raytheon, have already made a combined $8 million in contributions in this campaign cycle.

The arms race makes the world a more dangerous place. The next administration needs to cut them to a size that fits the actual dangers of the world.