Arming the World

The U.S. provides more than 70 percent of weapons exports to developing nations. Because America is so dependent on the weapons industry, it makes it difficult for Obama to change course, says political scientist William Hartung.

While the world’s weapons exports dropped last year, the United States increased its exports to developing nations by almost 50 percent compared to 2007. The U.S. is selling far more weapons than all other countries combined. New numbers from the Congressional Research Service show that America is surging past Russia, who used to be the number one weapons exporter to developing nations. On top of the list of recipients are the Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

The leader of the New America Foundation, William Hartung, has worked for years to make the U.S. government focus more on diplomacy and less on military power. That is not a simple task.

The U.S. is undermining democracy and human rights by selling weapons to oppressive regimes, Hartung says to Dagsavisen.

Hartung still thinks that Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama has shown signs of improvement. The fact that Obama has scrapped the plans for a missile shield and has called for a world free of nuclear weapons has gained a lot of attention. But he also stopped funding for the development of new warheads and has scrapped some new weapons systems, and those are changes Hartung cannot recall any other president has made.

It is difficult to change the system, and America’s dependence on the arms industry undermines the positive things Obama is trying to do, Hartung says.

He thinks American-made weapons make the world less safe when they are sold to unstable and undemocratic regimes.

Ensuring stability and security for America’s allies is an important part of Washington’s foreign policy. But according to a report from the World Policy Institute, the United States is selling weapons or providing military training to almost 90 percent of the countries that, according to the U.S. itself, are harboring terrorists.

Countries like Pakistan and Egypt are important allies for America, but are also unstable and undemocratic regimes that are challenged by terrorist groups on their own turf, says Hartung.

Paradoxically, George W. Bush’s “War on Terror” has led to a loosening of the rules that regulate which nations America can export weapons to. Because of expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the government is using less money on new and expensive weaponry, and more money on troops and veterans. Less money from Washington makes the arms industry look abroad for new markets. Oil-rich countries in the Middle East have a lot of purchasing power and have become America’s largest buyers.

Developing countries are the world’s largest market for arms – and the fastest growing. That the U.S. is now in control of more than 70 percent of that market is good news, says Baker Spring, researcher for the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation.

To be a world leader in arms exporting is imperative to American and international security, Spring says to Dagsavisen.

He thinks the American role is contributing to stability in the Middle East. Without support from America, there is a good chance some of these countries might be invaded. Without American weapons, we would have a security vacuum in the region and aggressive nations like Iran would probably exploit it, Spring says.

To be the largest military power in the world gives a series of strategic advantages, according to Spring. Because nations are using American made weaponry, it makes it easier for them to cooperate with American forces, and it also provides political and economic advantages. Weapons exporting can secure America access to oil and it can make weapon-buying states vote with America in the U.N., for example. At the same time, millions of American jobs depend on the arms industry.

William Hartung admits that there are advantages for America, but he thinks the world is paying too high a price for American military hegemony. According to a report from the New America Foundation, the U.S. is selling weapons to 18 of the 25 countries at war, and often to both or all of the sides fighting. And Hartung says that with countries like Saudi Arabia on top of the list, America is undermining human rights.

These weapons are sold with a “stamp of approval” from the United States of America. They know that the U.S. cannot sell them weapons and then attack them for oppression or murdering their own people. Therefore, according to Hartung, American weapons exporting undermines human rights and democracy and sparks conflict around the world.