Arms Sales: Obama’s Only Growth Industry?

[HiPointDem]

The dry dollar numbers in the latest Congressional Research Service annual arms sales report paint an ugly new picture. Over the last 5 years, every major arms exporting country has reduced its sales to developing countries–except for the U.S., which has sextupled its sales.

At the beginning of this period, we supplied about 20% of the developing world’s arms purchases; last year this jumped to 79%...

Table 4 shows that, from 2004 to 2006, we were signing about $6 to $9 billion dollars (in constant 2011 $) worth of arms contracts per year in the Third World. In time for the 2008 election, the Bush Administration added... an extra $3 billion in approved sales in 2007–and then unleashed a $17 billion add-on in approved arms exports for the election year itself.

Under Obama, developing country sales dropped back somewhat to $14 to $15 billion after the 2008 election, still almost double the Bush pre-election level. But in the run up to the coming election, for 2011 the Obama Administration has thoroughly outdone the Bushies by pumping in a whopping $42 billion extra of arms sales. The perhaps even larger 2012 election year results are not yet in, but it’s easy to forecast that champagne will be flowing freely in DoD contractor boardrooms by the end of the year.

Adding $42 billion dollars of export arms sales in just one year doesn’t happen by accident....

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/30/change-you-can-believe-in-comes-to-the-arms-market/

[JDPriestly]

1. What do we manufacture other than arms and pharmaceuticals?

[Bonobo]

2. Cognitive dissonance predicts that few will read your OP. nt

[Bonobo]

3. Kick. People, sorry if it is ugly but...

Making fun of the other guys is fun and all but if we don't reform our own party and policies, who do you think will?

[Dokkie]

4. No matter how bad you think this is

It aint gonna improve under Romney and that is the point. Obama is defiantly not perfect but he is clearly the better of the 2.

[Bonobo]

5. True, but we have no influence over Romney.

So he must be defeated. But even that is not helped much by just making fun of him and his ilk on a website for all Dems.

As I said, the influence we can exert can only be used to influence our party and THAT is the point as well. And I see precious little recognition of that reality.

[HiPointDem]

7. i agree. so tired of those threads. 50 comments that basically say things like "oh, what a dork

he is!"

this is not politics, it's something else.

[daeron]

6. US arms used for hunting civilian population

Arms sales should not be ignored. As reported in this "Obamacopters Give West Papuans Another Reason to Worry" report, American arms are too often used to hunt civilian populations for the crime of free speech - because in Indonesia it is illegal (an act of treason) for the Papuan population to talk about their Papuan nation or their wish for self-determination.

But this is NOT unique to Obama, he follows Bush who also wanted to sell arms to Indonesia and after 2001 turned a blind eye to the Al Qeada training facilities in Indonesia and the blooding of Laskar Jihad militants, even when Washington made a per-forma protest in 2002 Indonesia merely relocated Laskar Jihad from Ambon to West Papua. And given the videos of government torture and burning villages to the ground in more recent years, it would not be a surprise if many of the Laskar Jihad troops are now part of the Indonesian Police and military units working in the 'provinces'.

Both parties have gotten into bed with the corporations making money from this, the sponsors of the USindo.org lobby, but at least Patrick Kennedy as part of his swan-song in 2010 re-introduced the West Papua text which Eni Faleomavaega had managed to get the Congress to submit to the senate as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization bill in 2005. As always Indonesian President Yudhoyono has been able to count on usindo.org supporters to eliminate any questions about the colony of West Papua but at least democrat members have been trying to get the issue aired..

This is an issue where Obama could show both sides of politics that he is cleaning house, either sponsor the West Papua text or better yet, complete the job which the Kennedy brothers John & Robert were prevented from doing in 1969 - remind the UN General Assembly that the 'New York Agreement' which the Kennedy's got the UN to authorize in General Assembly resolution 1752 (XVII) was a "trusteeship agreement" (chapter 12 of UN charter) which means it is not a US job but is a UN job to be asking questions under article 88 of the UN charter.

[raouldukelives]

8. It's the backbone of any sound retirement plan.

Millions of people gleefully participating and fueling the binge of death, deforestation and climate change. But then, most peoples principles end at the bank.

[NashvilleLefty]

9. I don't understand. Is Obama making the guns? Or is he selling them?

Or are they being manufactured and sold by private interests? And it's just easier to blame Obama for every fucking thing?

[daeron]

10. Obama has lifted the restriction

on selling arms to countries including Indonesia.

Obama on his visit to Indonesia even called it a country of tolerance and democracy. Meanwhile the Indonesian authorities continue to hunt and jail Papuans who fly their nations flag or talk at rallies about the promise the Kennedy administration and Indonesia made in the New York Agreement that West Papua would be allowed to vote

Here is an example of an Amnesty International alert