The $60 billion arms deal between the US and fundamentalist Saudi Arabia is the largest single foreign arms deal in history. Democracy promotion at work.
Showing all posts tagged arms industry
Finding arms deals in the strangest of places
A fascinating and murky tale of alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout who clearly was the best friend of anybody who paid, not least the US: Accused of a 15-year run as one of the world’s biggest arms traffickers, Viktor Bout is thought to be a consummate deal maker. Now his future may hang on whether…
Hello merchant of death, can I please bribe you?
Can we dream of a world where the arms industry simply doesn’t exist? The close ties between the upper echelons of the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest arms company, have come under the spotlight after new documents showed how the multinational firm has regularly wined and dined mandarins and senior military officers.…
How ANZ bank is backing cluster bombs
Just one more reason to dislike the banking industry: A postcard produced by campaigners shows six-year old Abdullah, pictured with his left arm missing above the elbow. It explains the Iraqi boy was sleeping in his home in 2003 when a cluster bomb came through his window, the shrapnel blowing off his arm and tearing…
Remote-control killing in Palestine
What is an occupying army to do when people are simply not as keen to kill Palestinians anymore? It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli…
How Washington wants to woo those lovely Jews back into the fold
The charming tale of how the Obama administration is attempting to romance the American, Jewish community (selling more arms to Israel is certainly helping the argument).
Hizbollah rearms and accused of terrorism and Israel just continually rearms
Remind me who is the neighbourhood bully in the Middle East? It certainly isn’t Hizbollah or Lebanon: Hezbollah on Wednesday shot back at US charges it was stockpiling sophisticated weapons, accusing Washington of destabilising the Middle East and vowing to continue to build its artillery. “The resistance has the right to use all legitimate means…
America wants to send weapons above the atmosphere
We’re seen the future and it’s militarised space: The Pentagon’s test launch of two unmanned space vehicles this week have highlighted the efforts being made by the United States to develop a new generation of high-altitude weapon systems. The United States Air Force (USAF) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) test launched a…
Britain cares so deeply about human rights in Sri Lanka (it sells them weapons)
A clarifying fact that underscores the real killer in Sri Lanka: Britain licensed …£7 million worth of weapons and military equipment for export to Sri Lanka this year alone, it was revealed during a debate in Parliament Wednesday. The sum matches the amount of British aid provided in the wake of December 2004 tsunami. On…
Please don’t drop our bombs on poor Palestinians
Perhaps, step by step, Western nations are realising Israel illegally uses their weapons against civilians: A group of British lawmakers are expected to call Tuesday for the reevaluation of arms deals with Israel after a recently published report claimed that British weapons were “almost certainly” used in Operation Cast Lead in December 2008, The Guardian…