Ukraine and Yemen wars highlight US’s role as biggest arms dealer in the world
Mike Ludgwig, Truthout
Analysts say the defense industry has spent billions of dollars lobbying Congress while quietly making much more in profit by manufacturing weapons that fuel deadly conflicts in Ukraine, Yemen and across the world under federal arms sales agreements that have little effective congressional oversight.
There is a dangerous “feedback loop” between major weapons manufacturers in the United States that make billions in profits from arms sales, the countries that arm themselves with these weapons, and the U.S. government, which uses arms sales as “tools” to gain economic and diplomatic leverage, according to Dan Auble, a researcher at money-in-politics tracker OpenSecrets.
“Unfortunately, it’s ultimately the human beings on the ground who suffer as a result of the prolonged wars that are fed from these arms sales abroad,” Auble told reporters on Thursday.
The U.S. is the top arms dealer in the world, followed by Russia, France and the United Kingdom, with the U.S. responsible for 39 percent of arms exports globally, according to the Stockholm International Peace Institute.
Recent Posts
Why Medicare for All Is Now Possible
Take Action Now The politics of health care are finally catching up with patients and physicians.By Rebecca Delay, The Progressive Across the…
According to Polls, Americans Like Socialism a Lot
Take Action Now A crop of recent polls shows that socialism’s appeal is surprisingly broad. They also reflect a transformed US political landscape…
Massive Ivanka Trump Problem Triggers Existential Threat to GOP: ‘Rage Is Building’
Take Action Now Locals in Albania — where Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner plan to transform one of the nation’s most important ecological sites…
Vance-Led Task Force Moves to Strip 760,000 People of ACA Coverage
Take Action Now Protect Our Care says about 8 million people have lost coverage since the start of Trump’s second termBy Ruth Milka, Nation of…