The United States consolidated its domination of a shrinking global arms market in 2010, signing 21.3 billion dollars in new weapons orders with foreign countries, according to the latest edition of an annual report on conventional weapons transfers by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).<\/p>\n
Washington’s total actually marked a slight decline in orders from 2009. But, because total global arms sales last year fell sharply – nearly 40 percent – from their 2009 level of 65 billion dollars, the U.S. market share rose steeply, from 35 percent in 2009 to nearly 53 percent in 2010.<\/p>\n
The U.S. also ranked first in the value of actual arms deliveries in 2010, supplying foreign clients with some 12 billion dollars worth of weapons, or more than a third of the 35 billion dollars in global arms deliveries last year, according to the report. It was the eighth year in a row that Washington led the world in global arms deliveries.<\/p>\n
As in previous years, developing countries were the biggest buyers on the international arms market in 2010, accounting for 76 percent of all new arms agreements and nearly 63 percent of actual deliveries, according to the 75-page report, \u201cConventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2003-2010.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. accounted for 49 percent of all new weapons orders from developing countries last year – a major increase from its 31-percent share in 2009. It was followed by Russia, which maintained its 25- percent share of the developing-country market in 2010; and by the major Western European arms manufacturers, led by Italy, France, and Britain, which held a 13-percent share last year, down from 24 percent in 2009.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Russia have together been the dominant arms sellers to developing countries over the past eight years, according to the report, which noted that Moscow actually beat out Washington in the value of arms agreements it signed in the period 2003-2006, only to be overtaken by Washington in the period 2007-2010.<\/p>\n
In actual arms deliveries to developing countries, however, Washington has dominated the past eight years, with about 60 billion dollars worth of transfers, compared to Russia’s 38 billion dollars. Britain (19 billion dollars), France (12.3 billion dollars), China (11.6 billion dollars), Germany (6.2 billion dollars), and Israel (3.5 billion dollars) were the other top suppliers.<\/p>\n
The U.S. increased its share of the lucrative Near Eastern market dramatically during the eight-year period – from 33 percent of the total value of weapons orders in 2003-2006, to 57 percent in 2007-10. Inter Press Service<\/p>\n
FACTS & FIGURES<\/p>\n
The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.2 million each day in military aid during Fiscal Year 2011. Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year, which is roughly one-fifth of America’s entire foreign aid budget. ifamericansknew.org<\/p>\n
The United States additionally provided Israel $415 million for procurement, research and development of joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense projects, including $205 million to fund Israel’s newly-deployed Iron Dome system. Counterpunch<\/p>\n
U.S. funding of Iron Dome is but one example of many of how U.S. weapons transfers to Israel privilege Israeli military dominance over Palestinian freedom and create perverse economic disincentives for Israel to defy U.S. policy goals such as halting Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land, and ending its collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
The Obama administration formally notified Congress in October 2010 of a plan to sell $60bn of weapons to Saudi Arabia, a move designed to boost the U.S. arms industry and help counter growing Iranian power. Guardian<\/p>\n
The Obama administration demonstrated its firm partnership with the Bahraini dictatorship by selling them $53 million in arms, including equipment that could be used against protesters.<\/p>\n